FORGIVE ME!
I'm so deeply sorry. I had to finish off an assignment yesterday, so i didn't have time to update. I know it's unacceptable to have left you without your next chapter, and it actually hurt me to not be able to get back to Dimka and Rose.
anyway so yeah...chapter ten. Personally, i think it needs improvement, but i seem to be going through a writers bock and am having serious troubles working through it.
Also, i'm sorry for leaving you right after Rose's little get up with Adrian, it just seemed like the perfect time to cut off... -does evil genious laugh- i assure you it was...unintentional.
Just for the records, i based 'Alex' upon my brother. I SWEAR THEY'RE TWINS. And yes, i agree that he's a sick, twisted bastard. and No, just in case you were wondering, this is sort of a spoiler but i think you guys might dislike the story if i don't tell you, that no, Rose isn't going to spend the rest of her life in that god-for-saken strigoi infestation of a mansion. She'll...okay, can't tell you that one.
OH! and thanks heaps for the support on the test Freddy, you helped me ace it ^^
Answers:
1) No, the blood Rose drinks is not strigoi blood.
2)Alex makes her drink the blood because he's sick and twisted and enjoys torturing people for the hell of it.
3)Rose was not under compulsion or a spell, she simply lost all hope. She shut down, decided it wasn't worth to fight. If she wasn't keeping her classmates safe by staying alive and being there, she would have curled up in a corner and died. So she did as she was told, still utterly reluctant to do anything else.
There are your answers :] Once again i'd like to apologize for the long wait, and i'm happy to inform you that i got myself grounded for skipping school, so i will be home and posting chapters this weekend.
Okay, i'll justshut up and let you do your reading now.
Enjoy! xxx 3
Weeks passed before I lost track of time, and for each tick of the clock another ounce of darkness would drizzle through one of the cracks in my heart. At times I wasn't sure whose side that darkness was on, or what was causing it.
At first I assumed I was slowly being changed over. And that thought seemed to duplicate the darkness.
Then I realized I was growing angrier with each passing second. The darkness was like gun powder, and I was the time bomb. I could explode at any minute, effectively ending my life and any I managed to take with me.
But I haven't exploded yet, and I fought harder each day to calm myself. And with each day, it grew harder and harder. Today, I was trying so hard to calm myself that I was having trouble obeying orders.
"Not well today Rose?" Alex asked, stroking my hair in the usual manner.
"May I stay in my room for today?" it was worth a try…
"You may. If you give me a valid reason." Judging by his tone, he didn't expect me to come up with a 'valid reason.'
May as well stick with the truth. "I feel as if I might lose my temper. And I do not wish to upset any of your guests." God. It still felt so screwed up talking and acting so formal. 'may I', 'do not wish to', ugh!
"Ah," he sighed, standing up. "Yes, we would not want that, would we?"
"No Master, we would not." Master…God…
"Is there anything you would like? Something to help relieve you of your temper?"
Well, that wasn't what I expected. "A punching bag if possible. And some very loud music would be appreciated."
"As you wish," he nodded, taking my hand as if to kiss it. "They will be delivered within the hour." He kissed my hand and disappeared from the room.
As Alex had promised, a punching bag and a humungous stereo were delivered to my room, along with stacks and stacks of CD's. I stuck on the first CD I saw and picked up the punching gloves, ready to lay into the punching bag and let out my frustrated screams.
And then there was a knock on the door.
"Rosemarie, you have a visitor." Alex grabbed my arm, smirking about something.
I had a visitor? What the hell…I didn't get visitors. I didn't…okay, so I did live here. But who was there that would know how to find me, little own drop by a strigoi mansion and say hi. Whoever it was, I felt some what eager to see them.
The strigoi were all glaring at my visitor with murderous eyes, but I couldn't see them yet.
"You'll not take her from us," Stephanie was hissing towards the visitor through clenched teeth. When she saw me, she stepped aside to let me see my visitor.
I almost collapsed when I saw his gorgeous brown eyes. "D-Dimitri?" I stuttered. No…but Dimitri was dead. I let Dimitri die, he couldn't be here. "Oh bother." I get it. "I'm still seeing ghosts. But I had no clue that strigoi could view them too. Master, how does that work?"
"We do view ghosts Rosemarie. But, unluckily enough, that man is alive, and he wishes to take you from us." He's voice wasn't worried and his face remained the same. Every other strigoi in the room looked about ready to rip him to pieces.
"Roza…" his sweet, Russian accent echoed through my skull, eliminating all of that darkness building inside of me. "You're alive."
I was pretty sure my mouth was flattening my toes. "I'm alive? i wasn't the one that died. You're alive! but…" I turned to Alex, looking like a little girl who was just told her dog died. I was going into shock… "You lied to me." I stated the obvious, glaring at my feet.
"Yes. But you care not." He seemed pretty confident about that.
Did I care that he lied to me? Fuck yes I did. "Why didn't you tell me he was alive?" if I were talking to any other strigoi that question would have been idiotic. But this guy gave me constant updates on everyone I asked about.
"I feared that you would leave. Because you love him more then you love me." No shit…
"Why would that concern you? I wouldn't have left. I would have been happier, I would have talked to people because I wanted to, not because you told me to do so. I would have been happier." Here I was, starting to think this guy had some soft spot no other strigoi seemed to have. And then I find out the man he said was dead was alive…that was surely the worst sort of torture I could have endured.
"You would have left, Rosemarie. Do not deny this." I flinched at his tone. He was giving me orders. But was I still obliged to follow them?
"Yes, I would have tried to leave. Just like I am now…" why the hell did I just tell them I was going to try and break out of a mansion full of strigoi?
"Of course, you are free to leave. But if you do, our deal will be broken, and we will begin attacking students and guardians from your academy once more." He smirked. "Do you wish to leave, Rosemarie?"
The way he worded that question made it sound like: Do you wish to have your school annihilated? Simple answer being: No. I couldn't…it was too late to graduate or anything, so what was the point? Lissa would probably be bonding with her new guardians, and Dimitri could go get on with his life. I'm sure Alex would let him visit.
"Roza." Dimitri's voice pulled me from my reverie, reminding me of my complication. "You can't stay here. We need you." Sure…we need you. Not I need you. "Roza…" he stared into the depths on my eyes. "Roza I need you."
Why was he doing this to me? "Dimitri. I love you, yes. But…me staying here guarantee's so many others safety. I can't just leave…it's to selfish." God damn it. I'd changed so much it wasn't funny. Doing good deeds, using proper English, being polite to strigoi, doing what I was told. The old me would've already blown this joint, thinking I could take on the world if I had to. But I knew better now. "I wish to stay." I mouthed the words, unable to find my voice.
"Pardon?" Alex's voice was full of satisfaction.
"I wish to stay." My voice was louder this time, and I sounded a hell of a lot more confident then I felt. Those four little words were daggers, being stabbed and twisted into the remnants of my fractured heart.
"Rose, no!" Dimitri roared, wrapping his arms around my shoulder. "Rose you can't stay. You don't belong here! You belong me with, Rose. Roza don't do this, please Roza." He begged.
The tears started flowing over the brims of my eyes then, but I kept my face hard. I opened my mouth to tell Dimitri that I did belong here and that I did have to stay, but Alex cut me off.
"Dimitri. I would like to post you an offer." I felt Dimitri's arms stiffen around me as his muscles tightened. "How would you like to stay here, to be with Rose. You would be treated as she is, and given as she is. You may share a room or live separately. It's up to you."
WHAT!? A little squeaky schoolgirls voice buried somewhere in my head screamed. This was no life for Dimitri; he deserved better then to be a mere house pet. "But Master-"
"Silence. Let the boy answer for himself." My mouth snapped shut out of instinct. God I hated reactions like that.
"I'd be with Rose?" Dimitri's voice was calm and speculative. He wasn't actually considering this, was he?
"Yes." Alex's answer was very simple.
Dimitri looked down at me, love and devotion flaring in his eyes. NO! I wanted to scream. Run away NOW Dimitri! "I'll stay."
"Very well." Alex grinned in triumph, but had that wise look in his eyes that said he'd known this would happen all along. "Rose will show you to your room. Unless you would like to sleep separately?" Dimitri shook his head and intertwined our fingers.
I was going to be with Dimitri again. I swear I could feel a little pixie flapping around in my chest with a glue stick, slowly reshaping my heart. But there was a goblin in there to, which seemed to keep trying to eat the pixie.
How could I doom Dimitri to this life with me? I had to get him out…away from here. Out into the world where he belonged. But how? He wouldn't listen to me unless I went along with him. But that wasn't happening to soon.
"Damn it Dimitri." I hissed once we were in my room. "How could you do that!?"
"I can't live in a world where you don't exist. Even if you're alive, I can't be without you." He said this as if it were the most obvious and simple thing in the earth.
"You don't belong in a place like this!"
He chuckled. "What? And you do? You're saying that you belong in a house full of strigoi, but I don't?"
"I brought this upon myself. You, you've done nothing! You should be free, out in the world saving lives. Not in here taking orders from strigoi."
"Listen to yourself, will you?" he through he's hands in the air. "You've saved more lives then I have, if anyone belongs in the outside world it's you, Rose."
"No. I belong where you…" and he was here. This would mean I belonged here. But what I was trying to say…shit. He'd won again. "Damn it Dimitri!" I was trying to stay angry, but the excited little fix-it fairy with the glue stick had no such plans.
Judging by the look of pure lust on Dimitri's face, he had no such plans either. He realized around the same time I did, pulling me into his arms and crushing his lips to mine. It felt like I was melting, and that little hyped up pixie was on overdrive.
To my dismay, he pulled his lips back. "I belong where you are, Roza. And right now, that's here."
His hand reached around behind my back and found the zipper for the ridiculously fluffy dress I was wearing. Once he was rid of it, he bent down to dispose of my high-heel boots. I used the opportunity to relieve him of his shirt.
He all but through me onto the bed, gripping my wrists tightly as his lips massaged mine. During this, I was skillfully removing his sweatpants with my feet. The night went on, and not once were we disturbed by Alex. I suspected that he was using whatever courtesy he had and was allowing me and Dimitri time too…catch up with each other.
"Rose, can I ask you a question?" hey, I heard that line before.
"Didn't really give me much of a choice there, did ya sunshine?" wow, I'd been waiting to use that line for only god knows how long.
He chuckled after a moment of speculation, obviously trying to work out what I'd meant. Silly Dimitri…
"What's it like being a pet?
***
After I gave Dimitri the rundown on how to behave, talk, walk, obey, and let them dress him, we actually managed to get some sleep. He didn't like the part where I told him he was to refer to Alex as 'Master'. And he didn't like hearing that he had to be dressed fancy every day, little own had to be dressed by strigoi.
"Dimitri, Rose. It's time for you both to wake up." Alex came into the room, looking quite satisfied with himself. "I'm going to have to ask you both to be a little quieter during the nights, or else we'll have to relocate you both to higher, my soundproof rooms."
"Yes Master." I yawned, pulling myself out of bed only to throw myself back down. Shit, forgot I was naked. "Sorry Master…" I could feel myself blushing. I peeked down at Dimitri's immobile form and jabbed him in the kidney with a finger. "Get up, you've got to be showered and dressed."
Two female strigoi entered the room, carry with them a towel and a black suit. Of course Alex would have females dress him…probably just to piss me off. Stephanie and Adina stepped through the door with today's dress and accessories then, pushing past the other two females.
"Don't I get to shower myself?" he mumbled, picking up the pair of boxer's he'd been wearing last night.
"Speak formally and be polite, Dimitri." I commanded, wrapping myself in a sheet and heading out towards the shower. "You get to shower yourself; they're just there to help."
"right." He snorted, jumping out of bed.
"I trust Rosemarie has informed you on the basic expectations of staying in our humble home?" Alex's voice became a background sound as my usual conversation with Stephanie and Adina started up. Like it or not, these two weren't too bad. I actually didn't mind talking to them.
"Well, you're looking happiner," Adina giggled.
"Who's that Dimitri guy?" Stephanie asked.
"Of course I'm happier. And Dimitri, Dimitri is guardian Belikov." They'd once questioned me about my quest to kill one strigoi in particular, and I'd given them the entire story in full detail. I'd called him Dimitri Guardian Belikov, though.
"No way!" Adina scoffed.
"Seriously? That guy you went looking for?" Stephanie's face was eager with the sound of new gossip.
"Yeah." It was a simple answer, and it pleased neither of them.
"You aren't going to tell us about him, are you?" Adina's face fell, mimicking Stephanie's.
"Nope," I, on the other hand was quite cheerful. Cheerful for the first time in…how long had it been now?
"Get yourself clean," Adina mumbled, closing the bathroom door behind her.
I sighed, dropping the sheet and stepping into the shower. "How long does Alex plan on keeping me here? And why does he make me where these idiotic dresses?"
"Rose…" Stephanie's voice was filled with pity. "he's going to keep you the way you are until you're twenty-five. Then he'll awaken you…"
"And what's wrong with the dresses? I think they're gorgeous!" Adina scoffed.
Twenty-five… "I…but…what?" I nearly slid over in the shower. "I don't wanna be a strigoi!" I flung the shower door open, glaring them both down. "When did anyone plan on telling me this!?" fuck!
"Well, we didn't…" both Stephanie and Adina muttered.
"Rose, watch your temper…" Stephanie said in a soothing voice.
"you think that's a temper? You ain't seen nothing yet!" I screamed, ripping out of the shower. I yanked my towel off of Adina's arms and stormed off for the door. Their cool arms wrapped around me, restraining me. "Let go of me!" I roared, jamming my elbow into Stephanie's nose. She flinched a little, but didn't release me.
"Calm down Rose!" Adina hissed, yanking me backwards a little.
A few seconds later Dimitri busted through the door, stake in hand and ready for a fight. How'd he sneak a stake in here… "Get off her!" he roared, jumping forward a little.
"No, Dimitri." I through myself in front of him, very nearly throwing myself into his stake. "It was my fault." They did their job, they kept me safe. God knows what would have happened if I went storming off down to the guest room in a towel. I groaned. "You didn't kill anyone, did you?"
He straightened up as a sheepish look found his face. "I thought they were hurting you…" he mumbled, pulling a towel off the floor.
If Adina and Stephanie weren't still holding me down I would have thrown myself at Dimitri. He'd just busted out of the shower, which meant he was wet and naked. Ouch...the heat burning off him could have set the mansion on fie. Dang…
Stephanie and Adina were also staring wide eyed at Dimitri junior, so I covered there eyes up. "Eyes off, his mine." I chuckled as they snapped out of their lust powered trance. Great, now I'd have competition…sigh…
"Only killed one of them, the other one took of for help. Speaking of which…" five strigoi men, three of which I knew as Jeremy, Carl, and Julian. The other two I didn't know.
Throwing myself in front of Dimitri in a protective position I accidently dropped my towel. Shit…I froze up, staring down at the crumpled pile of white fabric around my feet before peeking up at the strigoi men. Well…at least they were distracted.
Dimitri, on the other hand, was very pissed off with the fact that five strigoi men were drooling over me.
"Now boys…" I muttered, trying to force up some confidence. "No need for violence. What Dimitri did was an accident…" I cleared my throat, trying to draw attention to my face instead of my boobs. "He thought I was in danger."
Jeremy grinned, snapping out of his haze and refocusing on my face. "You're in danger now," he traced over my body with his eyes in a very obvious checking-me-out way. "What a beautiful work of art…" he murmured, peeking back up at my face.
"You can quit having eye sex with me now." I growled, snatching up my towel.
He the others blinked, regaining their focus as well. "Well," one of the two strigoi men I didn't know straightened up. "Master Alex simply ordered us to restrain him. Seems he's calm already, so we'll leave you to your…business." He shook his head and waved his hand in a gesturing motion, telling the other to follow.
They went, but Jeremy did not. He chuckled. "I knew you weren't all polite and formal. You're one of those tough chicks that scars the shit out of everyone, aren't you? With one of those badass attitudes. I heard the stories; we all read a detailed description of you." He sighed. "We were all very disappointed when you lacked that so called sassy attitude."
I straightened up, slipping back into my formal mode. "I haven't the slightest idea of what you are referring too." Dimitri snaked his arms around me from behind and I felt him press his lips to my hair. "Now please leave, I need to finish washing my hair."
"Why don't I help you?" he suggested, stepping forward a bit.
"That position's already filled, comrade." Dimitri's voice was taunting. And did he seriously just say comrade? "Your services are no longer required," of course Dimitri wasn't going to have any trouble with the whole formal speaking thing.
Jeremy's eyes narrowed into slits, making him look sort of Asian. But, he did leave.
"Thanks," I said, planting a kiss on Dimitri's cheek. "But I really do have to finish my hair, it needs to be styled."
"I'm here to help," he said. I felt his head turn in the direction of Stephanie and Adina. "You ladies don't mind, do you?"
"Not at all." They replied instantly.
Dimitri was a very cruel man.
What sort of boyfriend gets in a shower with you flaunting himself, saying that he's 'here to help,' and then sticks to the literal meaning. All he did was wash my hair out. Oh how exciting. Ugh, I wanted to scream at him so bad.
But, if he was gonna play hard to get, I could play harder.
The day passed and Dimitri stayed polite and formal. Everyone enjoyed talking to him, but they were edgy around him, like they knew not to trust him. He'd gone all white and sick looking when Alex gave me my wine glass of blood. I drank it, as usual. Alex didn't make Dimitri drink any though, for which I was grateful. During the night he was all hyped up and ready to go at it, which made it hard to do what I did.
"Master Alex," I said, strolling over to him with a giddy feeling.
"Yes, Rosemarie?" god I hated the way he used my full name.
"I'd like Dimitri to sleep elsewhere to night." I smirked, anticipating his reaction to this.
"As you wish,"
Let's see how he likes that.
ADRIAN POV
I was pleased with myself, and absolutely pissed off with Belikov. Why the fuck did he get her? He didn't deserve her. He was to strict to even really allow himself to be with her.
But he was who she wanted, so he was who she would get.
Why oh whhhyyyyy did I have to…what the hell was that smell? I felt my body collapse ti the ground as I fell into some sort of a coma.
***
Where the fuck am i?
Standing up I stretched my under-used muscles and they groaned in protest like every other day, but it was a lot worse this time.
Looking around I saw many familiar faces. All from the academy. And they were all tear streaked, shocked, tired or in the case of guardians, seriously pissed off.
So again, where the fuck am i?
"Hey kid," I grabbed a Moroi guys arm and he screamed like a little bitch. "Wow, hey chill out. Just wanted to ask what's going on." talk about paranoid.
He didn't answer my question, he just pointed at the wall. Wow…what were kids injecting into their veins these days? Speaking of which, I was in need of some alcohol.
Following the direction of the boys shaking hand, my eyes looked in on a chalky pale female with orange hair and red eyes.
Strigoi.
By the looks of it, lots of strigoi. The hall looking building that we were all cramped up into was lined with them.
What the fuck was going on?
***
After I worked out what was going on, I just sat and waited with everyone else.
The strigoi could apparently see ghosts. And apparently the ghosts wanted to help the strigoi. the ghosts managed to possess some of the guardians, and by doing so they were able to drug up everyone in the school. Everyone indoors, like me, was out instantly because of the gas through the air vents. Those outdoors had to be injected. Apparently not many people were injected.
Nobody knew anything else, just that not everyone was here. There were others being held in other places, and a few people were left at the academy for toying with.
Rose was one of them.
And Belikov…jealousy's a real pain in the ass.
"Shut up and listen!" the strigoi lining the walls screamed, effectively ending all conversations and sorry sobs. The hall fell ultimately silent. Cool…
"Your lives are all in the hands of one girl. One little dhampire. We've given her two choices, she can either save you sorry saps, or she can save her precious lover boy." A heaps buff male strigoi guy said. He smirked. "Anyone wanna' guess who?"
It was so obvious. The was a collective sigh, followed up by a united call out of "Rose Hathaway."
"Well, that was quick. She cause trouble often?" his question was ignored, and new conversations started. All of which were based upon everyone's belief that Rose would do the selfish thing and save her 'precious lover boy'. Fucking Belikov…
***
A few days passed and the Moroi started growing weak from lack of blood. Then the strigoi opened the doors to the dark night, allowing us all to simply leave.
Or so it would seem.
I grabbed a passing guardian by the arm. "She saved us, didn't she?" damn it Rose. What've you gotten yourself into this time?
The guardian shrugged and hurried along on her way. I didn't approve of speaking to strigoi, but I had to know if it was Rose. I mean sure I already knew…but I wanted to know what she'd done to have us set free.
"Hey strigoi chick," a called to a brunette that was wearing a very frustrated look on her face. "What's gonna happen to that Rose chick now? What'd she do?"
She grinned, pleased about something. "Master Alex is having some fun with her. That girl will never see the sun shining again." She began laughing, sounding very much like one of them witches off TV.
I felt tears swell up on the brims of my eyes. Leave her with Belikov and she goes and hands herself into the strigoi.
Damn it Rose!
***
Two months passed and nothing happened. I sat on my bed, alcohol and cigarette free, just waiting for her to fall asleep. It was stupid, I know, but I needed that hope. Something inside of me was telling me that she was still alive, and it was loud andclear.
But how could anyone stay awake for two months? It wasn't possible. She'd have to be…No. no I wouldn't think anything like that. There was no way someone as strong as Rose could be dead.
There was no way.
I left the school once Lissa graduated, moving with her to the royal court. She'd married Christian Ozera, big surprise there, and was attending some collage nearby. My aunt sure as hell didn't like it very much, but she was just glad that I wasn't flirting with Rose anymore.
She was, however, disappointed that Rose had gone and 'died', like that. She'd been looking forward to having Rose at the royal court. She wouldn't admit it to anybody, but she liked Rose just like everyone else did.
Mia was living in the room next to me. She'd taken Rose's absence pretty hard. She'd gotten herself all worked up about training with her. About learning how to fight physically to defend herself. Rose had promised her lessons, and now Rose was gone.
I hated to admit it, but the only one who'd taken the hit of her leaving harder then me was Belikov. He'd set out after her, but lost track of her just as fast. They'd been too quick for him to get to her, and now he didn't even know where to start looking.
But look he did, day and night. He'd call Lissa once a week to make sure she hadn't heard anything from Rose, and he'd call me for the same reason, knowing that I could see her in her dreams.
I could see her in her dreams, but that was absolutely useless when she wasn't sleeping.
There was a knock on the door. "Adrian, can I come in?" Mia's voice rattled through the room as she opened the door a little to stick her head in.
"Okay." I said, still concentrating on Rose's dreams. Still waiting for her to fall asleep.
"Still nothing?" she sighed, sitting cross-legged on the end of my bed.
"Nothing." My answer was again, flat and short.
"Adrian…I know you think she's still alive…"
"I don't think she's still alive. I know she's still alive." I corrected her, frowning.
"Yeah, that. So she's still alive but she hasn't slept in two months…" her voice was implying that I was some sort of insane.
"What do you want, Mia?" my tone was harsh as I glared at her. She was so innocent, so sad and depressed. And so desperate…she wanted Rose to be alive nearly as much as I did.
"Come out of your room for once, please!"
"Did already today. I saw the feeders."
She made a weird annoyed sound. "For something other then life supplies. Come down to the spa with me,"
I sighed. Every day she'd try and drag me out of my room. And every day I said no. I was proud of her for trying, but it really was getting annoying. Peering up at her hopeful eyes I caved. "Okay, fine. But you've got to leave me in piece-"
There was a tug on my mind, and I found myself staring at Rose. She was asleep!
"ROSE!" I screamed, wrapping my arms around her in a vice tight hug. "Have you not slept in a two months? I thought you must have died!" well, I didn't but everyone else did…
She looked confused. "What do you mean I haven't slept for two months?"
There was something weird about her voice. She sounded…well, she didn't sound like Rose. "What happened to your voice?" I asked, raising both my eyebrows.
"Nothing happened to my voice." she said in a toneless voice. She looked…so dead. So sad…
"Rose, what did they do to you?" my eyes were sad, and my voice was packed up with sorrow.
"I'm nothing but a house pet now. I take orders from Master Alex, I eat, sleep, and bathe. I'm living out my life, just not the way I'd imagined." Her voice mimicked the last line she said, toneless and dead.
"House pet? Taking orders from Master Alex? Since when do you take orders?" Rose calling someone Master was hilarious. Usually I'd tease her or something, but not now. I was too happy to see her. Even if she looked so dead…
"Since two months ago."
I grimaced, deciding to say something about her appearance. "You look…dead. Like, there's no life in your eyes, no life in your skin. If your eyes were red, I'd start calling you a strigoi." poor Rose…what had they done to her?
"I am dead, Adrian. In all ways that count." Her voice changed slightly then, taking up a long lost sorrow.
"Why don't you break out of there? I know you could." I frowned. She'd done it before. I guess she had Nikki help her that time though…
She looked sort of cocky, displaying the tiniest bit of Rose. "None of the strigoi among the world will touch anyone from Saint Vladimir's academy if I stay. They promised, and they've come through."
I shook my head in frustration. "Still looking out for us all, even know its killing you. It's killing Lissa, too." I tried hitting the Lissa line. That might work…
Shestayed silent, appearing to be deep in thought. Either that or she was debating with herself. I rather liked he ideaof her debating with herself. That left the option of her breaking out. "She has Christian." Damn it. Of course it wouldn't be that simple.
"Rosemarie. It is time for you to wake up." A creepy calm voice echoed through the meadow, and then Rose faded away and I snapped back into reality with Mia shaking my shoulders.
"Adrian! Oh you're okay," she said, releasing my shoulder and bending her head down.
"She's alive!" I cheered, hoping of the bed to skip around the room.
"You found her?" she asked, perking up.
Shit. I grimaced. Why the hell didn't I ask where she was? "Well...I don't know where she is. But she's alive. she said she was a house pet…and she looked…so dead. Like she wasn't really there." Like a strigoi, just without the eyes and fangs.
"She's not..strigoi…is she?"
"No. she just looks like she'll never be happy again. So fragile…" Rose looking fragile wasn't something I'd ever thought to be possible.
DIMITRI POV
She walked through the door, grinning wickedly. She'd done something bad…something that was either going to piss me off or drive me on.
"Dimitri, I'd like you to leave my room now." She said simply, pulling that grin off her face and transforming her giddy features to an impassive stance.
"Err, what?" I frowned, sitting up in the bed. "Why?"
"This is my room, and I wish to sleep alone. Stephanie will escort you to your new room." She nodded her head towards the female strigoi standing at the door with a goofy grin on her face.
What the hell? Of I get it. She's trying to be funny.
"Come on Rose, drop it, or I actually will leave." I threatened, pulling the covers off the other side of the bed for her.
She stayed impassive as she turned and headed towards the female strigoi. "If he is not going to leave, I'd like to stay in his new room instead." The female nodded and took Rose's hand, leading her out of the room.
What…
Oh…shit. She was getting revenge for the shower. For fuck sakes…I stuck my head in the pillow and tried to get to sleep. Two could play at that game.
Drifting off into a sleep, someone I didn't expect to see was waiting to greet me.
"Finally," Adrian muttered, sitting down on a chair.
"What do you want?"I growled, taking a seat next to him. It was bad enough having him stalk Rose in her dreams; I didn't need him in mine, too.
"Rose is alive." he aid, stating the obvious.
"I know."
"I spoke with her,"
"I slept with her," it wasn't my usual method, but it was fun nonetheless.
"She…wait, what?" he stuttered, taking in that last comment.
"I'm with her at the moment. Well…not right now, but I'm with her."
"You found her?" his eyes widened in disbelief. "How?"
Could I tell him where we were? Should i? yeah… I guess I should. But no, I wouldn't. he'd send a small army in after Rose. "I really don't know," I frowned, trying to make myself look convincing. "I just woke up in a room and she was there." Okay…so I got good at the lying thing. I learnt from Rose, of course.
Adrian gasped and disappeared. The gasp was a gasp of…pain? Shock? What the hell…