FINALLY here's chapter 10! Read and Review guys! Apology at the end!
I'd been worried about taking Rose on. I was still new to my job, unsure of how to deal with students. Compared to being a guardian being a teacher didn't come as second nature. I could teach them to fight, but telling them off, I was scared I might throw them into the wall like they were a Strigoi. Especially Rose, she could so easily work around me I was scared to ever react. Finally last night she submitted, she was ready to learn, she wanted this for the Princess.
I planned all my lessons, like my teacher had taught me. Rose reminded me a lot of myself, and if I could learn this quickly – she sure as hell could. She was good with her hands, but she didn't need to be she could work things out quick and knew exactly what to do. Either I was an incredible teacher or she really did have a gift. Being a Dhampir girl, she could easily be over looked, but to me she was one of the best out there. The way we thought alike makes us perfect for the Princess. It's just the other ways that we are perfect together that scare me.
When I didn't have to train Rose or guard corridors, I researched more about St. Valdimir and Anna. Being a Guardian I had access to things Rose never could. I almost gave up till things became interesting. There was only a few paragraphs in every book so far that talked about Anna being 'Shadowkissed' but yet in every book it was never explained. The books were all at least 700 pages which meant I could only read a little before my duties called.
Today was important for Rose. Guardian Kirova had allowed Rose to attend her first social event. It had almost been a month that the Princess and Rose had been back a . I had a bad feeling that this would be the one and only event Rose would be allowed to attend, or maybe I was just nervous for Rose to make a good impression.
I had promised Rose extra practise and so today I would step her training up a notch. My usual black jeans attire had been replaced by baggy jogger bottoms and a loose top – something suitable for fighting. I was surprised to find Rose on time; if she'd have been early I'd have probably fainted. I'd laid the mats out and stood her in front of me on the opposite end of the mat.
"What's the first problem you'll run into when facing a Strigoi?" I asked.
"They're immortal." Correct but dig deeper.
"Think of something more basic."
"They could be bigger than me. And stronger." Exactly. Rose was very small, almost a foot smaller than me. That would always be her one weakness, but luckily she could overcome that. She could be described as having 'small-man-syndrome'.
"That makes in difficult but not impossible. You can usually use a person's extra height and strength against them."
I showed her certain moves, easy ones, how to take advantage of her size. I'd seen her get thrown about at practise, just because she missed these little techniques. i pointed to the parts of my body and where I got the strength from, main things she did wrong, she lashed out whereas what she needed was control and strength. I could see Rose bouncing to try these new moves. I loved her enthusiasm but to be honest I was scared one day she'd bite me in the back with them.
"Go ahead, try to hit me."
She lunched at me and hit me multiple times. Everything was right she was doing it perfectly. However I saw the disappointment in her face that I wasn't down on the ground sore to the bone.
"Okay, what am I doing wrong?" She asked panting. Waving her hands in the air trying to understand.
"Nothing."
"If I wasn't doing anything wrong, I'd have rendered you unconscious by now."
"Unlikely." Her face sagged. "Your moves are all correct, but this is the first time you've really tried. I've done it for years."
"Whatever you say, Grandpa. Can we try it again?" Her humour never failed to make me smile.
"We're out of time. Don't you want to get ready?" It was unlike Rose to miss out on a party. She looked around to find the clock on the far wall. I was sure she didn't have long now.
"Hell, yeah, I do."
I nodded my head. I could probably squeeze in half an hour to find out about Anna. I knew Guardian Kirova would have me watch Rose tonight to make sure she didn't get to ahead of herself. As I was about to leave I heard Rose make a noise which sounded like a battle cry or she was attempting to yodel, either way the noise was loud and obnoxious. I turned round and through her to the ground. Pinning her on top of the mat.
"I didn't do anything wrong!" She moaned.
"The battle cry sort of gave you away. Try not to yell next time. I said with a smile playing on my face.
"Would it have really made a difference if I'd been quiet?" I considered this, replaying the events which made it hard not to burst into laughter.
"No. Probably not."
I could see her thinking. I wondered what could be going on in her mind. What she would think about so deeply. Whatever it was, it made her smile, not just any smile a big cheese grin. Then her smile dropped as she looked up at me. I realised at the same time I was still on top of her tightly holding her wrists. My body lightly resting on hers as I'd quickly reacted. Our faces only inches apart. Her lips looked pink and plumped. There was something about her, something so beautiful not just her witty personality but the way she looked back at me. What I'd do to read her thoughts. To stay like this for hours, not talking just looking at her would have been perfect. For no one or nothing to disturb us.
"So um… you got any other moves to show me?" Then her smart tone brought us back, making me realise how inappropriate this was.
"Come on we should go." I said getting up. I didn't look back, just kept walking.
I woke up in my room. I felt energised but still all I wanted to do was sleep. My chest felt heavy from the weight of yet another 700 paged book on St. Valdimir. I put it on the bed side tabled and sat up. I rubbed a hand to my forehead as I loud yawn escaped my mouth.
There was a knock at the door. I brushed myself down and opened the door to find a Guardian outside. He turned around as my door creaked open.
"You're needed." He said in a sharp tone. Not bothering to wait for a response he walked off. Charming.
In less than ten minutes I was out the door and off the event. I knew why I was here, to keep an eye on Rose; most likely ending in me taking her back to her dorm.
A few hours later, as predicted guests began to mumble about the noise outside. I assumed it would be Rose and so I took hold of the task. I made a bee line for outside; the gardens were empty but for all I knew she could be hidden there, passed out or anything. When I reached outside I noticed Rose, it wasn't hard to spot her. She made eye contact with me; she knew I was looking for her.
"Everything alright?" I said as I got to Rose.
"Sure thing, Guardian Belikov." Despite the smile she was annoyed, she never called me Guardian Belikov unless he was furious. "We were just swapping family stories. Ever heard Mia's? it's fascinating." Her tone made her sound drunk.
"Come on." The blonde Moroi said to her friends, giving Rose and evil look as she walked away.
"I'm supposed to take you back to your dorm, you weren't about to start a fight, were you?" it sounded like a question but was more a command.
"Of course not. I don't start fights where people can see them." She refused to look at me, staring at the empty space where she had just been 'talking' to the Blonde Moroi.
"Rose." The Princess groaned, tired of Rose's attitude. The Princess never was one for argueing or fighting, like her family.
"let's go. Goodnight, Princess." I turned away hoping Rose would follow. She didn't.
"You going to be okay, Liss?"
"I'm fine." Even I could tell the Princess was lying, but it was none of my concern. Rose was deliberately doing this half because she cared but also because she hated the control I had over her.
"Liss…" Rose began before the Princess cut her off.
"I told you, I'm fine. You've got to go."
"We may need to add an extra training on self-control." I muttered.
"I have plenty of self-contr–hey." The Ozera boy passed us.
"You going to see Lissa?" She demanded. Something about him pissed her off, big time.
"What if I am?" He looked dark and mean as he looked back at her. Something about his attitude made me want to remove him instead of Rose.
"Rose, this didn't the time." I said.
2Why 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? You're some crazy stalker and she knows it. She's told me about you weird obsessions – how you're always hanging in the attic together, how you set ralph on fire to impress her. She thinks you're a freak, but she's too nice to say anything." I thought about now I should pull rose away, but she wasn't going anywhere till she was done.
"But you aren't too nice?"
"No. not when I feel sorry for someone."
"Enough." That was all I could stand. These were the times I realised she was just a little girl who still needed to be shown how to behave.
"Thanks for 'helping' then."
"No problem." She replied bluntly.
She turned round when we weren't quite out the room. Watching him to make sure he didn't do anything wrong. If he'd gone to see the Princess, we'd have had a very different ending that night.
Hey guys hope you enjoyed it sorry for the long wait! Hope it was worth it! I'm now on top of school and all yours to finish writing Dimitri's POV! Please review! If I get 5 reviews on this chapter I'll post another chapter by Sunday if not you'll have to wait till next weekend! :P Have a nice half term guys!