Warning: Slightest 'M' scene towards the end of this chapter, nothing too graphic but thought I'd better warn you. Enjoy!
Rose's Point of View.
Christmas arrived sooner that I thought possible. Time goes by quickly when your mind doesn't stray from some crazy Moroi who wants nothing more than to abduct you and do God knows what to you, and also when you're walking right into his grasp in fewer than two days.
The day went as wonderfully as I expected, present giving and receiving was always my favourite part of Christmas, up until I tried Olena's food, then that was my favourite part. Despite the worries that were on the minds of the family, Christmas day was surprisingly peaceful. It never failed to amaze me how close this family was, and how they manage to knit together and support each other in everything they do. I had never had anything like that before with a family, so there was no way in hell that I would ruin this for them.
I watched the sun slowly begin to set as I was tucked up against Dimitri's side on the sofa, well and truly stuffed full of Olena's incredible food. We were watching Paul play with his new toys when Dimitri brushed his lips against my ear and whispered "Do you want to go somewhere?" I looked up into his eyes and saw a mischievous glint in them that I had only seen a handful of times before. I couldn't help the smile that crept onto my face.
I looked around the room at the family; the girls were watching whatever Christmas film that was playing on the small TV, Yeva was napping in her armchair. "Where?" I whispered to him, not wanting to disturb the family.
"You'll see when we get there." He said before standing and pulling me up with him. Olena gave her son a questioning look but didn't pry when all he said was that we'd be back later.
Dimitri handed me my coat and wrapped my scarf around my neck after I'd pulled my combat boots on. He picked up a backpack and held open the front door for me, ever the gentleman.
"What's in the bag?" I asked as he took my hand into his own while we walked down the driveway and turned right down the street.
"Wait and see." He said as he placed a kiss to the back of my hand after bringing it up to meet his lips.
I pouted but kept walking where Dimitri was guiding us. We walked down the street until we walked down a quiet country lane that I hadn't even known was there before.
There were no streetlights down the tree-lined lane but we didn't need them with our heightened senses, the low shine coming off the moon was enough.
We finally reached the end of the path, it lead to a clearing in the tree's, opening into what once was a beautiful lake, but what is now completely covered in ice.
There was not a sound but that of our shallow breathing and an owl hooting somewhere in the distance. "I've wanted to bring you here for some time, but I had to wait until the ice was thick enough." I was about to ask what it had to be thick enough for, when he shrugged off the backpack and opened it to reveal two pairs of ice skates.
The thought of seeing Dimitri ice skating made my knees weak, he was as graceful as a beautiful God when he was walking on the dull earth, I couldn't even conjure a thought of how he would look gliding across the frozen lake.
A shit-eating grin spread across my face as he handed me the smaller of the two pairs. I pulled off my combat boots and pulled on the ice skates, they fit perfectly. I stood up and saw Dimitri already heading over to the ice, he stepped on to the ice and turned to face me, a smile graced his beautiful face and I could do nothing more than stare at him as he gazed back at me.
"Are you coming or are you just going to stand there?" He asked with a smirk.
"Cocky bastard." I murmured under my breath as I approached him.
I slowly skated towards where he was standing with his arms outstretched towards me; I slid straight into his arms. "I heard that." He said as he lowered his lips to mine.
"You were supposed to hear it." I said with a gasp after his lips left mine. He smiled as he began to glide backwards, pulling me with him.
"Have you been ice skating before, Roza?" He asked as the moon shone in his eyes.
"Years and years ago with Lissa." I told him as he turned so he was gliding across the ice right next to me. I slid my hand into his, not because I needed to steady myself, but simply because I wanted to.
We were skating for an immeasurable amount of time, I was lost in the world with the breeze flowing through my hair and the hand of the man I love gripping my own. I felt a sense of freedom that I hadn't experienced in a long time, maybe even since Lissa and I had been on the run.
I couldn't stop my mind from straying to thoughts of what kind of future Dimitri and I might have. Those thoughts were brutally disrupted when I remembered where I was going in two days, and that there was a high chance I wouldn't be coming back.
I knew I was badass and everything, but I couldn't think of a way in which this situation resulted in me walking away by myself, I hated to admit it but I knew I would need someone there, and there was no way I was dragging anyone else into this mess when the lives of the Belikov's are on the line.
I felt Dimitri's gaze on my face and turned to see a thoughtful expression on his face.
"What are you thinking about?" I asked while slowing our speed until we stopped completely.
"You. Just how incredible you are and how lucky I am to have you in my life. I don't deserve you, Roza." He said while caressing my cheek and brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear, I leaned into his touch.
"You're right, you don't deserve me, you deserve so much better. And I am so sorry Dimitri, for everything I have put you and your family through, but I promise you I will do everything in my power to make it stop. I just need you to remember that I love you, I've always loved you and I don't think I could ever stop." I'm not even sure how I managed to get my voice to work with the lump that had formed in my throat. I didn't want to say too much, or he'd suspect that something was wrong, but I had to tell him how I was feeling, he had to know.
His gaze was so intense, I had to kiss him to make sure he didn't say anything, or else I wasn't sure I could leave him. I slid my arms around his neck and pulled his lips down to mine. His hands set my skin on fire even through my thick coat. We were pressed so firmly together I wasn't sure where he ended and where I began.
His teeth tugged at my bottom lip, practically begging for entrance which I gladly gave him. I was lost in the feel of him, and I loved every moment of it.
Dimitri pulled back ever so slightly and his breath warmed my cold face. "I love you, Roza." He stated simply.
We later walked home hand in hand. By the time we reached the front door I knew I was making the right decision. I knew Dimitri would be hurt, I knew I'd be betraying him. But I also decided it was worth it if I knew he was safe.
It turned out we had been out for hours, and it was now almost midnight when we walked into the quiet house, the Belikov's had gone to bed.
Dimitri's strong but graceful hands strayed down to my waist and my hips as we ascended the stairs; they were resting on my bare stomach underneath my shirt by the time we reached his bedroom.
I pulled my top over my head and twisted in his arms to face him. I trailed my hands down his chest until they reached the hem of his shirt, I quickly tugged it up and over his head before my lips connected with his neck and he growled appreciatively.
His hands were roaming my body until he ever so slowly reached the button and zipper to my jeans. "Stop teasing." I said, as my hands trailed down his rock hard abs once more until I reached his jeans.
Dimitri sat down on the edge of the bed after removing the last of our clothing, I climbed right onto his lap, my thighs either side of him. He kissed me so passionately as I raised myself up and slowly lowered myself down so we were connected in a way that I had been craving since our kiss on the ice.
It was safe to say I had no trouble falling asleep that night.
The next two days passed in a blur. I hated that I had to leave Dimitri in the middle of the night again, but I was just hoping and praying he would understand, when he knew I was doing it for him and for his family.
I read through each and every one of the threat letters I had been sent while Dimitri was in the shower, they added fuel to the fire filled rage that was burning in my mind. I knew it was unlikely I would walk away safely, but I sure as shit wasn't going down without a fight, and I fully intended to cause Desmond hell while I was there.
I messily stuffed the letters back into the bedside table drawer before Dimitri came back in.
For the second time since I had been here, I pretended to be asleep as I waited for Dimitri to doze off. I didn't pack a bag; I didn't plan on taking anything with me other than my stake. I also tucked a pocket knife into the waistband of my jeans, I wasn't sure what use it would have, but I felt better knowing I had a concealed weapon.
I don't know why I was surprised to see Yeva waiting for me, facing me in her armchair. She slowly stood up as I reached the bottom of the stairs.
Despite her size and how frail she was, she pulled me into a tight hug. "I had to thank you, before you go." She pulled back to look at me. "There is a car waiting outside for you again, don't worry about paying for it, Girl. I need you to remember that you are not alone and that no matter how it may seem, there are always people that will help you. This is not goodbye." Her words no doubt had different meanings, but I understood what she was saying.
I lifted my chin ever so slightly, I felt as if she had given me the last bit of strength that I needed to go through with this. "Thank you, Babushka, for everything." She merely nodded at me as I took a few steps towards the front door.
"Roza." I turned to face her as she said my name. "The ring in your pocket, put it on and do not take it off." I had no idea how she knew it was in my pocket, but I pulled it out and slipped it onto my finger. I had meant to put it on before I left but it must have slipped my mind.
I thanked her once more before stepping into the freezing night air. True to her word, there was a taxi parked outside the front of the house, the engine turned on as the driver saw me approaching.
I slid into the back seat and nodded my greeting to the driver. I wouldn't fall asleep during the journey this time, I was going to take note of where we were going; names of streets we passed, distinctive landmarks I could use later if I needed to.
The drive must have taken an hour at least, I didn't recognise any of the streets that we passed but that wasn't much of a surprise.
The driver slowed the taxi until he stopped altogether; we were down a quiet street, nothing out of the ordinary. The driver turned to face me.
"Your destination is down that road, about a 10 minute walk, the big warehouse, you can't miss it. I would have liked to have taken you closer, but I was told to drop you off here." He had a very strong Russian accent, but I could just about understand him.
"Here is fine, thank you." I didn't have any money to tip him, but I could guess that Yeva paid him generously to take me to the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. I stepped out of the car and into the bitterly cold night air. I glanced back at the taxi once more as he turned around and drove off. I was alone.
I made my way in the direction he told me, no streetlights, just a deserted street leading God-knows where. Why wouldn't Yeva just make him drop me right outside the warehouse?
The building was easy to see in the distance, it was a huge structure with lights on inside, shining into the blackness outside. There was not a single sound outside other than the crunching of the gravel beneath my feet as I walked.
The realisation of the fact that I had no idea what I was walking into dawned on me, and I hesitated as I got closer to the looming warehouse. What would Dimitri do?
I decided to make a detour through the bushes and trees that lined the street, I felt somewhat safer knowing they didn't know that I was coming.
When I reached the building I didn't go in straight away. The windows were high up, too high for me to see over. Like that would stop me. I shimmied myself up a drainpipe until I could just glance into one of the windows, and into the building.
The room was massive and mostly empty. In the centre of the room was a few foldable tables and a few chairs. One was in the centre of the room; I could guess that it was for me. There were at least half a dozen men standing around in the centre of the room, one I recognised to be Desmond. The men surrounding him seemed to be a mix of Dhampir and Moroi. A chill spread through my body when I noticed two Strigoi standing within the group, the others looked slightly uncomfortable but Desmond was perfectly at ease with them. Shit.
I dropped down from the drainpipe and took gasped down as much air as I could fit into my lungs, I had to calm down. There was no way I would let them see my fear. I took a few more deep breaths until I made my way towards the door.
They had another thing coming if they thought I was going to knock on the front fucking door.
I squared my shoulders and took a deep breath before gripping the door handle and opening the door.
There we have Chapter 21! I'm sorry you've had to wait so long, but it took me a while to write this chapter and I've been a busy bee recently! I'm so sorry to those of you who were hoping she would tell Dimitri she was going, then the Belikov's would get hurt! Thank you so much to everyone who has followed, favourited and reviewed this story, I appreciate every single one, and thanks to everyone who answered my question last chapter, I loved hearing about you all! Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoy the chapter, please let me know what you think!