A little mid-week surprise! ;)
Disclaimer: I own the plot and idea. I do not own Vampire Academy. All rights go to Richelle Mead.
Dimitri Belikov
My eyes followed as Roza left the waiting area and headed onto one of the planes with her team, which included Benjamin Noble.
From what I had gotten from Ivashkov and Castile was basically that the man was perfect. He was a model Elite Agent; in the top five percent in his class and had won the Elite Rookie of the Year award his first official year as an agent. He was a master swordsman, beginning to learn when he was only nine years old. His signature weapon was of course the swords, but apparently the man was equally deadly with anything that had a blade on it. Apart from his work as an Agent, the man also an actor, though it was simply a "hobby," one that he was supposedly very good at. He did a little theater, working there occasionally when he got off work at the Elite, but mostly during his breaks and vacations. As if that wasn't impressive enough, the man knew Latin. Yes, Latin. And on top of all that, not only was he Rose's partner, he was her best friend, her confidant. He was the first person she met when she left, her first new friend. He had been there for her for the past five years, he had been there to help Rose reinvent herself and grow up into a beautiful woman; he had been there when I hadn't.
My mood darkened at the thought. Five years. Who knows what could have transpired between them in those five years?
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Elite flight number E130…"
The voice of the boarding agent broke me out of my thoughts. Checking the electronic board next to me, I saw that I was on a different flight from the one being called. Looking away from the board, my gaze turned to the large windows in front of me. I could see the aircrafts from here. There where the regular commercial flights going out, and then there were the Elite jets. They were pretty hard to miss. The jets were just as large as the commercial jets, but instead of being standard white, they were painted a sleek black color with silver detailing.
Around me, Guardians began boarding their respective flights, and soon my flight was being called as well.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Elite flight number E032790, is now ready for boarding. Please line up in an orderly manner and…"
I slung my duffle bag onto my shoulder and got into my line. After giving my name to the agent, I was let into the jetway. After walking through that, I stepped onto the aircraft, where an Elite Agent kindly told me to sit anywhere.
I believed that I was currently in the Economy class, as the Agent soon disappeared up the small stairwell to the second level of the plane where I presumed First class was, but it was built like First class. There were no rows of cramped seats, but rather rows of pods, large enough to even fit my frame, and spaced out enough to allow for privacy. They were furnished with a nice sized screen and small storage area for books and the such. Stowing my bag into the overhead compartment, I got into my seat, enjoying the slight recline when I sat down. Soon, the plane began to fill up. Guardian Hathaway and Abe Mazur soon came onboard, having calmed significantly, though that faded as soon as Castile and Ivashkov came on board. And of course, Ivashkov chose to take the pod right next to mine. Great.
"Hey Belikov," the man slurred slightly as he collapsed into his quarters.
"Lord Ivashkov," I acknowledged, "have a nice time at the bar?"
"You betcha buddy!" He grinned, leaning out a little and shooting me a thumbs up.
Shaking my head, I turned back to reading the safety instruction card.
"I would ask you if you want a drink, but I think you already got a head start."
My head shot up at the teasing, melodious voice.
Roza stood in front of Ivashkov, the signature Rose Hathaway smirk on her face, arms folded across her chest.
"Of course Little Dhampir! What else would you expect?" Ivashkov retorted.
The two of them laughed, Castile joining in, and I would not help it as I felt my temper flaring a bit. I was already overwhelmed over all that was occurring, but add to the fact that Castile and Ivashkov had known where Roza was all these years? That was simply not helping matters. In fact, it simply made me want to throttle Ivashkov even more than usual. Everything Guardian Hathaway had said in the airport was completely true. It was completely unfair to all of us that those two knew where Roza and Ozara were, had even visited them on numerous occasions, and yet left the rest of us in the dark. I suppose we all underestimated the loyalty those two felt toward Roza.
"Hello Guardian Belikov."
My head snapped up to meet Roza's beautiful eyes. My breath caught in my throat as I gazed up at her, mesmerized by her sheer presence and shocked that she was actually acknowledging me.
"Roza." I breathed out.
She ignored my use of her nickname and simply smiled at me. "Would you like a drink Guardian Belikov?"
Ignoring the stab of pain that went through me at her cool demeanor, I nodded. "Just a water please."
"Of course," she nodded walked off to the next pod. A couple minutes later, Roza returned with a tray of drinks. I spotted other Agents with trays as well. Benjamin Noble was currently serving Guardian Hathaway a shot of what looked like whiskey while Abe Mazur looked on, half amused, half concerned.
"Here we go," Roza smiled down at me handing me a tall glass of water, "one water."
"Thank you," I nodded.
She nodded back and began to walk away when I made a snap decision.
Catching her arm right as she was about to escape my grasp, I pulled her into my pod, her body flush next to mine. Turning a bit to face her, I tried to control the onslaught of emotions coursing through me due to her close proximity. God, her skin still felt so soft, and she still smelled the same, that beautiful combination of mangos and jasmine, and-
"Yes Guardian Belikov? Is there a specific reason you pulled me in here?" Roza questioned, her right eyebrow actually managing to rise a bit.
"I wanted to talk to you." I replied.
"Okay," she said simply, blinking her wide eyes.
"You-you keep calling me Guardian Belikov."
"That's your title isn't it?" she argued.
"You never addressed me as such, even when you were supposed to," I argued back.
She simply shrugged.
I breathed out of my nose harshly. "Roza-"
"Rose. My name is Rose, Guardian Belikov." She interrupted me firmly, her eyes narrowing and her shoulders straightening in defiance.
"Rose," I nodded, hiding my hurt over her rejection of her former nickname, "we need to talk."
"We are talking," she said, gesturing between us.
"No! You know what I mean," I said exasperatedly, getting frustrated with her deliberate stubbornness, "we need to talk about us. About what happened."
She smiled enigmatically at me. "Funny, I wanted to talk to you about us years ago. And I do remember that encounter so clearly. Do you remember, Guardian Belikov?"
I flinched at the hard tone that developed at the end of her comment, which had done its intended purpose, as guilt stabbed me though the heart.
"Roz-Rose, please. Just let me say one thing, please." I pleaded as she began to open her mouth. "About that day, the day at the church, what I said to you? I didn't mean it…I just felt so guilty over what I did to you and I let that affect my judgment. I'm so sorry."
She blinked. "And now? Do you still feel guilty?"
"Yes, but…but I've begun to forgive myself for what I did to you, in Russia and that day in church. I was foolish to think that avoiding you would solve all of our problems. It was twisted logic, but…but I've changed Rose, or I'm beginning to change and-"
"You've changed?" Rose interrupted.
"I-yes?" I said, fearing her next response.
"Well, I've changed too, Dimitri. A lot more that you think." She laughed ruefully, her eyes glazing over a bit at some memory or thought. Before I could ask what she meant, she abruptly stood.
"I need to get back. We're about ready for take off."
I grabbed her arm once again. "But we will talk more later. This conversation isn't over." I said firmly.
She sighed, but nodded, and left my pod, my body immediately feeling colder as her presence left me. I watched as she walked over to Benjamin, the two of them sharing a look, before she looped her arm through his, dragging him toward the stairs and disappearing up to the second deck. I tried to swallow the ugly jealous feeling trying to overtake me.
"Ouch," Ivashkov smirked, no doubt witnessing our conversation and my reaction to what just transpired.
I simply ignored the man, turning to face the screen as the pilot came over the intercom system, doing the usual welcome, informing us that the anticipated flight time was to be around four hours; the usual, and soon after that, we were airborne.
The rest of the flight was rather uneventful, my time spent between reading my western that I had brought along with me and ignoring Ivashkov's attempts at socialization. We were given a little snack that was handed out by the Elite Agents, though this time Roza didn't come by my pod, instead pausing to socialize with Castile and Ivashkov briefly before heading up to the Elite deck once again. Soon after that, we were told that we were beginning our descent into the Caelum Interdimensional Airport.
Sitting up, I put my seat belt back on and looked out the window. For the past few hours all I had been able to see were clouds, but know I could actually see land and water. The water was as blue as any ocean in the dimension I knew. And in the distance I could see a city; the towering skyscrapers, a bridge, and the airport we were rapidly approaching. Before I knew it, we were on the ground again, and the pilot was back over the intercom.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at the Caelum Interdimensional Airport in Caelum. Current time is 2:30 p.m. and the weather is a perfectly pleasant 71 degrees. We thank you for an excellent flight, and we hope you enjoy your time here.
Soon after that, the seat belt signs turned off and the plane came to a complete stop. A rush of Elite agents came pouring down from the second deck, all dressed in black and silver. Retrieving my bag from over head, I got in the line to exit and shuffled along with everyone else toward the door, where the Elite agents had congregated, and were acting like a welcoming committee as we exited the plane. I finally reached the exit, where Ben Noble was the first to greet me. In his Elite uniform, arms crossed, a slight smirk on his face, which grew when I came near, he simply said,
"Welcome to Caelum."
Hey guys! I just wanted to get this chapter up because I'm not sure if I can update this weekend. I'll try my best to do so, but I have finals coming up and a study session Saturday. I'll try my best to update, but no guarantees. Wish me luck?
Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please leave me a review, they are excellent incentives to write and are always appreciated! ;)
Happy Hump Day! (If it's Wednesday where you are, if not, have a nice day!)