Thanks for all the great reviews on the previous chapter! I hope you like this one as well.
As usual, the characters are all owned by Richelle Mead. I'm just having some fun making Dimitri work for it.
Chapter 11
DPOV
I should've known Zmey would be keeping an eye on me. I had hoped to have a little more time to get through to Rose before he interfered though.
"Mr. Mazur, you're welcome to come in, but I have to leave again in ten minutes."
"I'm sure whatever you need to do can be.. postponed."
I shake my head. "I'm afraid not. I need to patrol the wards with Guardian Castile."
"As far as I'm aware you're only following him around, so surely he can do without you for the day." Of course Abe would know the conditions of my assignment. I wonder how closely he's been watching me and if he's got someone following me fulltime. The thought makes me quite uncomfortable.
"Apart from the fact that I don't want any guardian to be out there on their own if it isn't strictly necessary, Rose is actually the one who got me assigned to follow Guardian Castile. I'm not about to ruin her efforts on my behalf by missing a shift Mr. Mazur."
I'm taking a risk by mentioning this, it might just piss him off a lot more. In that case I'll find a way to deal with it though. I'm not sure how much effort it took Roza to get Hans to agree on this, but it can't have been easy. Missing a shift is just not an option. Eddie would have to report it and I'd lose this opportunity.
Abe looks me up and down and I stand a little taller. I am intimidated by him, but it wouldn't do for him to know that.
"Fine, you'll be meeting me for dinner tonight. Pavel will let you know where. Don't think you can stay away without consequences."
"I'll be there." I'm not about to give him any extra reason to dislike me.
"Excellent." He walks away without another word. When he's out of sight I heave a sigh of relief. I'm not looking forward to tonight, but at least I'm getting a chance to explain. It's more than I could hope for really.
I change and rush out the door. Eddie is already waiting for me and we start walking straight away.
"Since I had an email from Rose with my altered schedule I'm assuming you found her yesterday?"
"Yes, I was lucky she was still there. Her coworkers had already left."
I can tell he's curious about how things went, but he doesn't ask and I'm grateful for that. My mind is reeling with all the things Abe might do to me tonight for talking to his daughter. I think back on our last conversation and the clear threat in his words. Zmey is not a man who believes in second chances. You either do what he wants, or he'll make sure you'll regret it. Since I don't plan on staying away from Rose, I'm a little apprehensive about his plans for me.
The day passes quickly and before I know it, it's close to sunrise. I'm mentally preparing myself for the next few hours when Eddie speaks up.
"I thought it'd be a good idea to go to the gym when we're done here. We haven't trained much in the last few days."
"Actually Eddie, would you mind if we do that some other time? I already went for a run this morning and I have a dinner appointment I don't want to be late for."
He raises his eyebrow at me. It's obvious he's not pleased with my answer. "Oh really? Who's the lucky lady? I doubt you managed to convince Rose to go on a date with you already."
I give a humourless chuckle. "Not likely no. And I don't think Abe will appreciate you referring to him as a lady."
His mouth falls open. "Oh damn, he found out you talked to Rose? I didn't tell him anything, I swear."
It's a bit of a relief to know I'm not the only one who has a very healthy dose of respect for Abe.
When we get back to the guardian buildings Eddie pats me on the shoulder.
"Well, best of luck to you Dimitri. Barring any serious injury, unconciousness or death, I do expect you to show up for work tomorrow. Unless you're locked in a basement somewhere. I'd still have to report your absence of course, but I'm sure missing work would be the least of your problems in that situation."
I groan. I hadn't thought about Abe locking me up yet. "Thanks Eddie, I feel so much better now."
"Glad I could help!" He grins and waves as he walks off.
When I get back to my room, Pavel has left a note when and where to meet Abe. I have just over half an hour to get there so I quickly take a shower, shave and put on a dress shirt. I might as well try to make a good impression, even though it's probably too late for it to make any difference in Abe's opinion of me.
I get to the restaurant five minutes early, but Abe is already sitting at a table, waiting for me. His guardians are nowhere to be seen, so I assume they don't expect me to cause him any trouble, but I'm sure they're close just in case. He doesn't answer my greeting but just nods to the chair opposite him. As soon as I sit down he waves the waitress over and orders a glass of wine. I'm tempted to order a vodka. I could probably use some liquid courage, but I'm going to need a clear head to deal with Abe so I stick to water instead.
As soon as the waitress is out of hearing range his eyes bore into me.
"Would you care to explain yourself boy?"
"In regards to what Mr. Mazur?"
"Don't play dumb. I know you've been talking to Rose against my express wishes. I warned you what would happen if you didn't listen to me."
I take a deep breath before I reply. I'm fairly sure he's not going to like my answer.
"Actually sir, you warned me about the consequences of hurting Rose again, which I have absolutely no intention of doing. You didn't order me to stay away from her, you merely stated you thought it was better if I did."
His eyes narrow as he stares me down, but I refuse to give in. If he wants to hurt me I can't stop him, but unless he kills me it won't keep me away from Roza.
"Hm I suppose I should be glad you paid attention to what I told you. I hope you'll also remember what I tell you now. Stay away from Rose or you'll regret it." I can hear a dangerous note to his voice, but it doesn't matter. Nothing he says will change my answer.
"With all due respect sir, I won't. If Rose tells me to I'll be gone in a second, but it's upto her. I tried to make that decision for her and I think we both know how that turned out."
"Which is why you'll stay away from her. You've hurt her before and it broke her spirit. If you persist in approaching her for a walk or a run, I will have to find a more permanent solution to keep you from walking."
"If that's what you think is best sir. A wheelchair would definitely complicate matters, but it wouldn't stop me from trying."
His eyes narrow further but I meet his gaze unflinchingly. The waitress brings us our drinks but since Abe doesn't look away, neither do I. No matter the physical pain he might put me in, it will be nothing compared to the agony I would feel if I gave up on Roza without a fight.
After a few minutes he grins at me.
"Well I'm glad to see you finally grew a pair boy, it's about time." I'm stunned, that's definitely not the reaction I expected.
"Excuse me?"
"I would've been disappointed if I had been able to scare you off so easily. Rose deserves someone who is willing to give everything for her if it came to that. If the mere threat of bodily harm would've been enough to deter you, I wouldn't allow you to go anywhere near her again."
I want to make absolutely sure I understood Abe correctly. I'd like to avoid another confrontation with him next time I talk to Roza.
"You won't try to keep me from spending time with Rose?"
"Not at the moment, no."
"I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but why? I'm sure you could think of ways to keep me away from her, with or without my cooperation."
He tilts his head to the side and regards me thoughtfully. "Yes I probably could, and you would do well to remember that. If Rose found out I interfered though, she would probably be upset with me. We've only just gotten to know eachother and I would prefer not to ruin our relationship."
I can understand where he's coming from. Rose isn't the type to rely on another person, not even a parent. I think the only person she ever put her trust in has been me, and I royally screwed up.
Apparently Abe has another reason because he continues talking.
"Secondly.. As I was leaving your building after our little meeting this morning, I ran into Rose. She was distracted and didn't notice me at first, but when I called out to her she gave me half a smile and waved. It might not be much, but it's more than I've seen from her in months. Andrei informed me afterwards that he saw you two on the track together."
Roza was smiling after having spent time with me? I can't help but grin at that information. It's good to know she doesn't only accept my company, but it actually makes her somewhat happy.
"Don't look so pleased with yourself."
I look down and try to hide my smile, but it takes me a few seconds to wipe it off my face and adopt a respectful but serious look instead.
The waitress brings our food and we make small talk. Or well, Abe talks, and I give appropriate answers. I try not to volunteer too much information myself. He might not be out to hurt me now, but I can't be sure he won't change his mind. After we've finished he orders us both coffee. I'm starting to relax a little, thinking he is done asking questions. Of course he proves me wrong soon after.
"So tell me Dimitri, what did you think of the reading material I sent you before your trip?"
"It was very informative sir."
"I think we're past such formalities, feel free to call me Abe."
It feels a little odd to adress him like that. I never expected to be on a first name basis with Zmey and I'm unsure whether it's a good or a bad thing. I'm not about to deny his request though, so I nod.
"I thought those reports might interest you. But if I might ask, what did you actually expect when you received the envelope and you found out I sent it?"
"Uhm.. Well... I considered several options."
"Really? Would you care to elaborate?" He asks, genuinely curious.
I'm actually interested to see what he'll make of it. "I thought it might be a packet of information on medieval torture methods, gruesome pictures and all. Or it could've been a map of body dumpsites within an hour of court."
He laughs out loud and takes out his phone, quickly typing something. "I hope you don't mind I made a note, those are excellent ideas."
I immediately feel sorry for the next person who crosses Zmey. It seems like he or she is in for a nasty surprise.
The next several days pass by quickly. I go running every morning, and Rose joins me twice. We still haven't really talked, but just seeing her regularly is amazing. On Tuesday I wake up early, even though it's my day off. I don't know if Rose will be running this morning and I'm not about to miss an opportunity to be in her company. I can sleep later in the day.
When I get to the track Rose is already waiting for me. I smile as I greet her, and for the first time, she smiles back at me. My heart skips a beat, I'd nearly forgotten how her smile makes her whole face light up. We set off for our run and spend another hour in companionable silence.
As we're done running and stretching our muscles I notice her checking her watch. She probably has to leave soon.
"Thanks for the company, I hope you're not going to be late for work."
"No it's my day off today," she says absentmindedly. It is? Then why was she out here so early?
"Mine as well."
"Ah yes, I forgot." Is that why she is here? She could've slept a bit longer and worked out later in the day. Unless.. she wanted to run together and thought I'd have to work so running early was my only option. Just the thought that she might look forward to these moments as much as I do makes me smile widely.
She looks a little unsure of what to do with herself now that we're done and I don't have to leave like I normally do. This is my chance to spend more time with her, and I'm not about to let it go to waste. I take a deep breath.
"If you don't have to leave yet, would you like to spar? With me?"
I'm not sure what her answer will be, but it's worth a shot. She thinks about it for a bit, before hesitantly answering.
"Uhm, sure?"
I can't believe she actually said yes.
We enter the gym and head for the far corner. It's relatively secluded and I would prefer not to have an audience at this time.
We get into position, both a little flustered by the memories of doing this so many times back at the academy. I assume a defensive stance, allowing her to decide how to play this. We circle each other before she finally makes a move. I dodge both the fist directed at my shoulder and then her leg snaking out to tackle me, before ducking and trying to catch her by surprise with a low hit to her stomach.
When she blocks me I freeze at the physical contact and Rose jumps back like she's been burned. I haven't touched Roza in a long time, and the force of it nearly knocks me off my feet.
From the expression on her face Rose is hit by a tidal wave of emotions as well. I'm about to suggest we should stop, but she's already on the offensive again. I move out of the way of her high kick, but she keeps coming. For the next 10 minutes she's throwing everything she's got at me, and all I can do is dodge and block before she moves on to the next kick or punch. I take a few hits and feel the power behind them, I can tell they're going to leave bruises. All Roza's training and her experience while hunting me is definitely paying off. She was already an excellent fighter when I was taken, but she's nearly unstoppable now.
I'm afraid that she'll injure herself if she keeps going like this, but I don't have an opportunity to stop her. We're both sweating and out of breath, but she still keeps going. Eventually she gets tired though and I finally see an opening. As she tries to swipe my legs from under me again, I decide to go along with it. I use her own speed against her and take her down with me, rolling on top of her and pinning her arms to the ground.
"Easy Rose, I don't want you to hurt yourself." I'm panting a little, but try to keep my voice calm and reasonable.
"Shut up, I don't care what you want." She's hisses at me. I hear her voice break and that's when I notice her face is wet with tears.
I loosen my grip slightly. "Roza, I'm sor..." I don't get to finish. She takes full advantage of the little space I gave her and forcefully brings up her leg, kneeing me hard in the groin. I roll to the side, unable to speak or really do anything for a moment. As soon as I've moved away, she jumps up and towers over me.
"Don't call me Roza. Don't pretend you care. And don't you dare say you're sorry."
She strides away and I look after her. As I slowly stumble towards the changing room I consider everything that just happened. Up until now I actually thought things were going relatively well. Rose seemed okay with being around me, and a bit more lively than she did before. I thought she was improving and while I expected her to be mad at me the first few times we interacted, I no longer expected this kind of reaction from her now.
I knew I might not have a chance with Roza and my main goal was to get her out of the emotionless state she was in, to get her to feel something, anything really. But to be honest, anger wasn't quite the emotion I was hoping for.
