Dimitri's Point of View.

The day had gone well so far; I missed Roza like crazy while she was out shopping with Vika. I was worried about her, as I was every time she was away from me. But I knew she could take care of herself, so I did my best to keep my mind busy while they were away for the day.

I had helped Mama around the house for the morning, she had shelves that needed putting up, and I also tidied the shed out in the garden. After lunch, Mama and I started planning what we could do for Roza's birthday.

I'd already got her present months and months ago, in fact, I had purchased it soon after we met, I always had it with me for her in case she needed it. But I had it personalised just for her. I knew it wasn't a lot, nothing like what someone like Adrian Ivashkov or Vasilisa could get her, but it was personal and somehow I knew she would appreciate the sentiment of it.

Tomorrow was Roza's birthday, and I wanted more than anything to spoil her. I was going to bring her breakfast in bed and cater to her every need all day. Mama was planning on having a few friends round in the evening to celebrate, including Mark and Oksana.

I knew Rose and Vika were having lunch out in town, but as the hours were rolling by, I became more and more anxious.

Sonja and Karo had come how from work by now, and we were all sitting in the living room, I had also spent a lot of the day playing with Paul, I loved being around my family.

My head snapped up in the direction of the front door when I heard the doorknob twist and it opened.

The sight before me made my breath catch in my throat and made my heart clench as if someone was holding it in their fist and they wouldn't let go.

Rose and Viktoria both stood silently in the door way, clutching each other's hand, they both dropped their bags by the door.

I stood up as soon as I saw them. 'What happened? Are you both okay?' I asked stupidly, of course they weren't okay. Vika had tears in her eyes and looked like she'd been crying. Roza's hair was dishevelled and she had a rip in the sleeve of her jumper, what scared me the most was that her face was completely emotionless, Vika looked terrified, but Rose looked as if she didn't feel anything at all.

Vika ran into the room as soon as she saw Mama, and threw herself into Mama's open arms, she started sobbing straight away.

Rose hadn't moved a muscle since she stepped in the door and dropped her bags, her back was tense and her jaw was clenched shut. She just watched Vika run up to Mama and the pain in her eyes was clear as day. I slowly approached her and her eyes flickered towards me. Was she in shock?

I slowly put my arm around her shoulders and tucked a tangled strand of hair behind her ear. I didn't miss her flinch ever so slightly when my hand touched the side of her face, which set off alarm bells in my head.

Vika was already sat on the sofa, cradled in Mama's arms. I gently guided Rose over to the sofa, she plopped down next to Vika, I perched on the arm of the chair, not wanting to stray too far away from her at a time like this. We still had no idea what was going on.

Sonja sent Paul upstairs to play, knowing he shouldn't hear whatever it is they were about to tell us, something had clearly happened.

'What happened?' Karo asked gently, she was looking at Rose, but Rose was just staring at the ground, so Vika was the one to speak.

'W-we were waiting at the bus stop for the bus home, when these men- Dhampir's- grabbed us and pulled us off the street. There were more of them in the alley.' She wiped her eyes before continuing. 'They surrounded us in a circle, they pretty much ignored me, this man, the leader I assume, grabbed Roza. He knew her name, he knew she was staying with us, he said she was really valuable.' Viktoria's voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper.

My hand was gently resting at Roza's back, rubbing circles there, I was trying to reassure her as best as I could, but I really wasn't sure how. 'Roza, did you know the man?' I asked as gently as I could. Her eyes snapped up to my face as if I'd made her jump. She didn't utter a word, she only shook her head.

Vika took this as her cue to continue. 'He wanted to know about Ibrahim Mazur- Zmey- Roza said she didn't know who he was, she's only met him once after all. He said he knew she was lying. He told her he'd be seeing her soon, sooner than she thinks, and they left.' Vika was still pressed up close to Mama.

'Were either of you hurt?' Mama asked gently. Roza didn't acknowledge the question, but Vika said she didn't think so, but they did get a bit rough with Rose. It made my blood boil.

We sat in silence for a while, no one really knowing what to say. Most of the attention was on Roza, she still hadn't spoken a word since they'd come home, that was worrying me to no end.

Mama put her hand on Roza's arm; she looked up into my mother's worried face. 'Roza, are you alright?'

Roza blinked and it was as if she had snapped out of whatever trance she was in. She stood up so fast I would have missed it if I'd blinked. 'I'm fine, really. I suppose I should be going now, you've all been so good to me, but I must have outstayed my welcome by now, especially now.' She was pacing back and forth as she spoke, her arms flailing in the air as if to mirror the emotions running through her mind.

She headed out of the room but I caught her before she could take another step. 'Roza, what are you talking about? We don't want you to go anywhere.' I put my hands on either side of her face so she couldn't look away from me; I didn't care if this was all happening in front of my whole family.

'Don't you get it, Dimitri? I'm putting you all in danger. You heard what he said; he's coming back for me. I can't be around you guys when he does.' Is that what she thought? 'You can't really want me here, so I'll make it easier for you all and I'll just go.' She tried to get out of my grip but I held her tighter.

'You are not going anywhere, Roza. You are staying right here, with us, where we know you will be safe.' She bit her lower lip and I wanted nothing more than to kiss it and make all her pain go away.

All the tension left her body and I knew she would drop it for now. I gently released my grip on her.

Mama got up from her space next to Vika and slowly approached Rose, as if she was afraid to frighten her and she would threaten to flee again. My mother wrapped Rose into a tight hug; I saw the tear slip down her cheek before she hastily brushed it away. My mother kissed her on the forehead before she pulled away and went back to Vika.

Rose turned to the family; they were all looking at her expectantly now. 'I think I'll have an early night tonight, have a shower. I'm really sorry I put you through that Vika, all of you really.' She looked nervously between each member of my family before her eyes settled on Vika, who got up and hugged her tight.

'Stupid girl, apologising for something you have no control over.' Yeva mumbled loud enough for Rose to hear, and in English.

Rose gazed at Yeva for a moment, as if she held all the answers to her worries, maybe she did. She then quietly bid us all goodnight before heading upstairs. I wanted to follow her so badly, but I knew she would need time to herself.

As if sensing my thoughts, Yeva spoke up. 'Just leave her for a moment Dimka, the girl needs some time to process what she's going through.' Something was wrong, Yeva had been nothing but hostile to Roza since she got here, now she's suddenly defending her and looking out for her? She must know something.

I gave Roza an hour before I finally headed upstairs. Vika had already taken herself off to bed after saying she wasn't hungry when Mama offered her food.

I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth before heading into my room, I didn't want to have to disturb Roza by getting up again to do it later.

Roza was lying on the bed wearing nothing but one of my old shirts when I walked in, it almost came down to her knees, her hair was a damp tangle of curls splayed around her face. My god she was breathtaking. If it wasn't such an awful time, I would take her and worship every inch of her body, but I knew that's not what she needed right now.

Her body was relaxed and the features of her face were slack, her eyes were open but I knew she wasn't seeing anything in this room, she was with Vasilisa.

It always sent a shock through me to see Roza so completely vacant and unresponsive, I hated seeing her like that but I knew it was something she liked to do often to keep an eye on Vasilisa.

I pulled my jeans off and slipped into the bed beside her and patiently waited for her to come back to me.

She came back to herself with a deep inhale of breath, letting it go slowly. She gazed up into my eyes for just a moment before shuffling over closer to me, my arms wrapped around her almost on instinct, she fitted perfectly against me.

'How are you feeling Roza?' I asked, I knew it would be stupid to ask if she was okay again, when obviously she wasn't.

'I'm fine, just confused, and pissed off. I hate that Vika had to go through that just because of me.' I felt like she was going to continue, but something held her back.

I gently stroked her head, tangling my fingers in the curls. 'It's not your fault. That man obviously thinks you have something to do with Zmey, which is frankly ridiculous, you've only met him once and you didn't even know who he was. I'm sure it'll all blow over.' I really wanted to believe what I was saying, but the chances were that they didn't pick on Roza randomly.

'I'm sure you're right, there's no way I can have anything to do with a man like that.' She murmured with conviction, I hoped she wasn't brushing this off for my benefit.

I was about to say something else to reassure her but any words I was about to speak were cut off when her lips pressed against mine.

One of her small hands was resting on my chest while the other wrapped around my neck, her touch still sent shocks down my body. The arm I had resting around her waist tightened, pulling her closer to me.

I poured every ounce of love I had into that kiss, I needed her to know how much I loved her, and that I was there for her.

I slowly pulled away and gazed down at her, tears had begun to fall from her cheeks. I wiped them away before they could get too far.

'I love you, Roza.' Despite the tears that had fallen only seconds ago, she smiled.

'I love you too, Dimitri. And I'm sorry, for everything.' Her voice was rough and strained, there was something in her eyes that I couldn't identify.

'You have nothing to be sorry for. Now get some sleep, you must be exhausted.' She looked at me for a moment longer before nodding and settling down against me; her head was resting against my chest, her arms wrapped tightly around me, as mine were around her.

I placed a kiss to her head and murmured to her in Russian until I felt all the tension leave her body as she fell asleep. Sleep overcame me soon after, and I succumbed to the darkness.

She still hadn't mentioned a thing to me about her birthday being tomorrow, I wondered why she didn't want me to know. Vasilisa had planned ahead for Rose's birthday, and made sure I knew what date it was, she had also given me presents to give her from everyone back home.

My dreams were filled with Rose, as they were every night. This time she was standing beside a masked man, they were both running from me, no matter how fast I ran and how much I urged my legs to carry me further, they always outran me, she always slipped from my grasp.

I woke with a start; I bolted upright in bed, covered in a thin sheen of sweat, breathing heavily. I glanced down at Roza's sleeping form beside me. I glanced at the clock; it was 8 in the morning. I figured now was a good time to get up and make Roza breakfast. Mama was pottering around in the kitchen when I went down.

'How is Roza, son?' She asked gently while kissing my cheek in greeting.

'She seems okay. She hasn't even mentioned that it's her birthday, I wouldn't even know if the Princess hadn't told me before we left.' I said while preparing breakfast.

'Perhaps she just doesn't want to make a big deal about it, it must be hard being away from her friends on her birthday.' I knew she was probably right, Rose strangely didn't seem like the kind of person to make a big deal about her birthday, well tough, I was going to make it a big deal.

I placed the piled plate of blini on a tray, along with a glass of orange juice, as well as a red rose in a small vase. I carefully carried the tray upstairs and placed it on the bedside table closest to Rose, she was still fast asleep, no surprise there.

I sat down beside her and trailed my hand up her arm, she was still asleep but I felt the shiver run through her body. I slowly lowered my face to hers and placed my lips over hers. I felt her smile against my lips.

'Happy Birthday Milaya.' I whispered against her lips.

Hey eyes snapped open and she pulled her face away from mine as soon as the words left my mouth, I couldn't help but frown at her reaction.

She sat up in bed and glanced at the tray of food on the bedside table. 'How the hell did you know it was my birthday?' She asked, completely shocked.

I took her hand in my own and kissed it, her body relaxed instantly. 'Vasilisa told me before we left. Why didn't you tell me Roza?'

She sighed in defeat. 'I should have known she'd have something to do with it. I just don't like to make a big deal of my birthday, I never have.'

'That's ridiculous, it's your 18th birthday, and it's special. What do you want to do today?' I asked her while I placed the tray of food on her lap. Her face lit up when she saw the steaming pile of blini in front of her.

'Nothing, I just want to be with you and your family today. I still feel awful about yesterday.' I moved next to her and kissed her temple.

'That's ok, we can have a quiet day today, but Mama has got some friends coming round tonight; Mark and Oksana are coming too.' She seemed to cheer up a bit at that.

'It'll be nice to see them again. Thank you for doing this for me Dimitri.' She said while gesturing to the half eaten blini in front of her.

'You're welcome Roza, we'll head downstairs when you've finished your breakfast, and you've got presents to open.' Her face lit up like a Christmas tree at the mention of presents, and she threw herself into my arms and kissed me right on the lips, I chuckled against her lips. I wanted today to be special for her.

There we have Chapter 14! I was going to wait to have Rose's birthday, but it kind of worked out well for it to happen this chapter. I'm really looking forward to writing the next chapter in Rose's point of view, there's a lot going on in her head right now. I know you were all expecting Rose to run away in this chapter, but there's still time! ;) We'll also be hearing for Yeva next chapter which I'm looking forward to. Thank you so much to everyone who has favourited, followed and reviewed this story, I appreciate every one of you. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter!