AN/ Thanks to bella roza913, Darkness Approaches. Vampiresrockroza, georgie00, Miss Persaya, ShadowkissedAngel, Kadiem02, dimka-roza-belikov, Nicia, lorin-nicole, crystal49s, DeadlyblackRoses, deliciouse, talkygirl, nicole, rivereq, ELFINA01, laineylane03, Dimka's chick and pheonix2311 for your reviews!
Talkygirl asked at the end of Chapter 18 what I meant by Victor's words 'You might be a great Guardian Rose, but you are an even better human' and I forgot to leave the explanation last chapter. It simply means that she has more compassion and humanity than most guardians, ie she is more human. Hope that clears thing up for you and anyone else who was wondering!
The court-case appears in this chapter and as I have no clue when it comes to legal jargon, please ignore any mistakes I may have made with that. I did my best.
On we go...
Disclaimer- The Vampire Academy is the property of Richelle Mead.
MJ
Xxx
Showing no mercy
I'd do it again
Open up your eyes
You keep on crying
Baby I'll bleed you dry
Skies are blinking at me
I see a storm bubbling up from the sea
And it's coming closer
Closer ~ Kings of Leon
Fighting for a future: A Last Sacrifice Novel
We practically ran down the corridor towards the court room. Dimitri hastily agreed to drop Daylin off at the nursery before joining us so we managed to arrive before everyone had taken their seats. Lissa was already there with Christian and Tasha and had saved us all seats fairly near the front. I could tell through the bond and from her facial expression that Lissa was nervous so I squeezed her hand reassuringly. She smiled weakly at me and returned my squeeze, her face slightly less troubled now.
Up front Victor and Robert were in clear view of everyone. They sat stiffly side-by-side; their hands cuffed behind them as the listened attentively to whatever their lawyer was saying to them. I was surprised they were even able to get someone to act as lawyer for them with their reputation, but I guess money speaks louder than words in some circumstances.
The judge called the court to order just as Dimitri slipped into the seat beside Adrian. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief as his presence comforted me slightly.
"We are called together here to discuss the case of Prince Victor Dashkov and Robert Doru in relation to Mr Dashkov's escape from prison and the consequential incidents that took place following this event. Mr Ashdown, you may proceed."
Victor's lawyer nodded at the judge and stood, taking his place at the front of the room. He was a thin, spinally man dressed in an undistinguishable grey suit with thinning brown hair and glasses. He was the sort of man who you just knew spent his childhood studying in his room 24/7 instead of going out with friends like a normal kid.
"I call Robert Doru to the witness stand." His voice was weak and gravelly; not exactly something that created an effective impact.
Robert looked slightly surprised at this as he jumped in his seat and blinked up at Ashdown. I snorted into my lap as Adrian groaned and rubbed his temples in aggravation – some people never change.
Once Robert was securely in the witness stand and had undergone his oath Ashdown began his questioning.
"Mr Doru, what is your relationship to Victor Dashkov?"
Robert looked at him questioningly, as if silently assessing if Ashdown was insane.
"Victor is my brother." He said slowly, as if this was obvious. I repressed another snort.
"On your father's side, yes?"
"Yes. Trenton Dashkov."
Ashdown nodded confidently at this as if some great mystery had been revealed. I shook my head; I would never understand lawyers.
"Can you give a detailed description of the events that took place leading up to the night you were found in your hotel room with Mr Dashkov?"
I stiffened in my seat and my heart flew into a panic as I realised that one slip could potentially send me, Lissa and Eddie down for a long time. I waited with bated breath for his answer, my hand gripping Lissa's so tightly that she winced.
"My brother called to me around three months ago to say that he had been freed from prison and that he wanted to meet up."
I sagged in my seat as relief pulsed through me. I felt like I had very nearly dodged a bullet, the adrenaline pulsing wildly through my veins.
"And you had no part in your brother's escape?" Ashdown continued, looking almost gleeful.
Robert shook his head.
"No sir, my brother was freed."
"And you have no idea as to how those events occurred?"
Robert frowned, a look of concentration overcoming his features. Adrian stiffened beside me and gripped onto my wrist so hard his knuckles went white. I suddenly returned to high alert when I realised we weren't out of the woods yet.
"Rosemarie was there. And the gentle girl; Vasilisa. And the other one; the drunk. Ivashkov. They might know."
My heart dropped to my stomach and then started to thump madly as all the blood drained from my face. Beside me Lissa was shaking in fear and Adrian seemed to be mumbling prayers under his breath. This was it, I realised. This was where our lives shattered, once and for all.
Ashdown looked at Robert irritably and I felt a tiny flicker of hope.
"Yes, Mr Doru, we are aware of those who were occupying your room with your brother before our arrival. Now if you could-"
"Belikov!" Robert blurted out, his expression starting to look slightly manic. "They were looking for Belikov!" He smiled down at Ashdown hopefully, as if he thought he might be helping.
To my right I saw Dimitri stiffen and turn wide eyes on me. I tried not to look at him because I knew the horror I would see on his face as he realised that Lissa and I were responsible for Victor's escape.
"Mr Doru!" Ashdown interrupted, looking stern. "I am asking you if you had any hand in the escape of Victor Dashkov."
Robert looked around himself almost in awe as he seemed to come back to the present.
"Mr Doru, I repeat. Did you play any part in the freeing of Victor Dashkov from Tarasov high-security prison?"
Robert looked at him, disbelief clear on his features.
"Oh course not!" he exclaimed. "I'm not a criminal!"
I collapsed again in relief, Lissa and Adrian mirroring my actions. Thankfully the court seemed to think Robert was relaying recent events and not what had happened previously. I felt like laughing but I didn't think that would go down so well in the courtroom and I didn't want to get thrown out.
Ashdown appeared to be similarly relieved, although I think that was more because he finally got an answer out of the crazy guy.
"Thank-you. No more questions."
The judge nodded as Ashdown took his seat and the opposing lawyer stood. I scowled as I realised it was Iris; the woman who had tried to send me to prison for murder. I momentarily forgot I was meant to be on her side as I stared at her all-too-familiar face.
She sauntered up to the front of the room and grinned maliciously which made her take up the appearance of a rather ill-fed cat.
"Mr Doru, Victor Dashkov is your brother, correct?"
Robert looked at her dumbly before nodding slowly.
"Would you say you were close growing up?" Iris's voice had a taunting edge to it that made my skin crawl.
"No," Robert replied. "I didn't learn of Victor until I was late in my teens."
Iris nodded, as if already knowing that. I frowned, wondering where she was going with it.
"But you grew closer in your later years, yes?"
Robert nodded and I suddenly began to dread Iris's upcoming questions.
"He was the only family I had left," Robert continued. "He took care of me when I was..."
"Fragile?" Iris suggested with a twisted smile. "You owe your brother a lot do you not?"
"I suppose so..." Robert shifted uncomfortably as Iris stared at him. I felt a wave of sympathy for him – I didn't much like being questioned by the old bat either.
"Enough to risk your own life by breaking him out of prison?"
A collective gasp went up around the courtroom at the blunt question and the judge banged his gavel to regain control.
"No! I wasn't there!" Robert's eyes had widened to the size of saucers and he seemed to be shaking slightly in panic.
"So you don't feel you owe your brother for providing you with so much; safety, a family, money, a home?"
"I do owe him for that! But I didn't do it!"
"Mr Doru, do you have an alibi for the night Victor Dashkov escaped from Tarasov? Can anyone vouch for your whereabouts?"
Robert had gone unbelievably pale and I couldn't blame him; my own heart was pounding manically and I felt cold all over. If Robert went down then Adrian would suffer immensely, not to mention Victor would never own up to murdering Tatiana if Robert wasn't safe and I would have a lot of explaining to do to try and justify how I knew he had murdered her. I would no doubt end up behind bars again myself.
"I was at home. I have my house outside Vegas, I was there!" Robert cried, seeming on the verge of a meltdown. Beside me Adrian was gripping his hair and grumbling continuously. I could only imagine what was going on inside Robert's head right then.
"I repeat, can anyone verify that?" Iris asked sweetly. I wanted to smack her.
Robert seemed to collapse backwards into himself and I mentally winced.
"No," he whispered. "I was alone. I'm always alone."
"What evidence do you have that my client took any part in the breakout?" demanded Ashdown, who was suddenly on his feet again, looking outraged.
"Recent developments have revealed that Mr Doru has high abilities in compulsion," replied Iris sweetly, not looking frazzled in the slightest. "He could have easily used this ability to confuse the guards."
"Reports also state that two humans and a dhampir were involved in the escape. Neither of which Mr Doru is," argued Ashdown vehemently.
"If you return to my previous point, Mr Doru is highly skilled in compulsion. He could have easily corrupted the minds of the guards or affected the individuals to do the work for him. As he has no alibi and has admitted to a close relationship to Mr Dashkov you can see how Mr Doru has motive and the skills to carry out such an operation."
Ashdown opened his mouth but his argument never came and he instead retook his seat and began shuffling violently through his notes. Iris beamed smugly before turning towards the judge.
"Thank-you," she said briskly. "No more questions, your honour."
The judge nodded again and Robert was escorted back to his seat by a guardian. He collapsed into it and immediately folded his arms onto the table in front of him and laid his head down. Victor placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and murmured what I assumed were words of comfort into his brother's ear. My heart twisted slightly at the obvious display of affection and I wondered not for the first time why Victor couldn't just be a straightforward asshole.
Ashdown stood again, although some of the enthusiasm seemed to have drained out of him.
"I call Victor Dashkov to the witness stand."
Victor stood and walked up to the witness box confidently; the picture of ease. He smiled at the courtroom as he dutifully undertook his oath.
"Victor Dashkov, can you describe to the court the events that took place the night you escaped?"
"Oh course!" he said enthusiastically. "It is exactly as the stories say. Two human feeders and a dhampir delivery boy escorted me out of Tarasov, entirely of their own accord."
Ashdown nodded glumly and flicked through the notes in his hand.
"Can you give a detailed description of the individuals?"
"Yes, but I do not wish to. You see I am loyal to those who help me and I have no desire to turn on my friends." He paused as if thinking of something and then smiled coldly. "Yet," he added.
Ashdown glared at him in obvious annoyance and distaste.
"Was your brother, Mr Doru involved in your escape?" Ashdown asked, looking weary.
"No," answered Victor firmly, all traces of humour gone. "My brother played no part in my release."
"No more questions," sighed Ashdown and collapsed into his chair again.
Iris stood up and smiled maliciously like a snake just before striking its prey.
However Victor never even turned to look at her, his eyes instead searching the crowd. When they came to rest on me they stopped and stared. He smirked slightly and interrupted Iris who had begun her questioning.
"I think," he said loudly and clearly. "That I will refuse to answer any more questions and offer up any more evidence until I have the certainty that my brother will be protected."
As expected this statement caused uproar in the courtroom but Victor's eyes never once swayed from mine. I knew exactly what he was asking and all I could do was give one, sharp affirmative nod. Victor smiled slightly and finally turned away and stepped down from the witness stand.
The court was adjourned and scheduled to meet again at noon the next day. Everyone stood up, talking animatedly about the proceedings but I stayed back from the crowd, silently slipping out of the courtroom before anyone could stop me. I knew what I had to do and I was going to try my damn hardest to make sure that happened.
I only hoped I didn't end up regretting it.
~o~oo~o~
"You want me to what?"
Abe's face was the picture of anger and disbelief as he stared at me seemingly incomprehensible.
"I want you to help me break Robert out of prison. Before the next trial." I repeated.
After leaving the courtroom I'd headed straight for my father's suite knowing I was going to need his help if I had any chance of pulling this off. Unfortunately he didn't seem to be very agreeable to the idea.
"Why Diyarında, would I do that?"
"Because I'm your daughter and I asked you to?" I questioned, trying to play the daughter card. No such luck.
"Are you insane? I think I'm going to need a bit more of a reason than that."
I sighed and collapsed on the chaise lounge beside him.
"Alright..." And I told him everything. About breaking Victor out of prison, saving Dimitri, my promise to Victor to keep Robert out of it and his confession to murdering Tatiana; everything. As I spoke he grew paler and paler until his eyes were standing out scarily against the white pallor of his skin.
When I finished I watched him in silence waiting for the explosion but it never came.
"Oh Kiz," he sighed. "What have you gotten yourself into?"
"Will you help me?" I demanded, ignoring his question. "I need your help."
He stared at me, silently assessing me but I held my ground. I had to do this, without him or not. It would just make my life a hell of a lot easier if he did help.
He seemed to come to the same conclusion I did and some of his fathering instinct must have kicked in because he nodded his head reluctantly.
"Thank-you," I whispered and then did something I'd never done before; I reached out and hugged my Dad.
He stiffened in surprise before relaxing and returning my embrace lightly. I drew back before it could become uncomfortable.
"Alright," Abe said gruffly, smirking slightly. "What laws do we need to break? And when?"
~o~oo~o~
It's a standard cliché that in horror movies the villains always make their move at midnight. With us being vampires you would probably expect creeping shadows and full moons. But no, we were going to take the world by storm at ten o'clock in the morning (human time.) There was no music – despite my request – and defiantly no shadows due to the rather large star in the sky more commonly known as the sun shining brightly over court. It was even a Sunday.
I'm fairly sure I'm going to hell after this.
All the same the atmosphere was thick with tension as Abe and I walked through Court, heading towards the jail cells.
"I can't believe we're just going to walk right in," I muttered.
Abe shot me a sidelong glance but didn't stop walking.
"I've told you-" he started but I cut him off.
"I know, I know. 'Hiding in plain sight.' It doesn't make this seem anymore stupid though."
He laughed, seemingly so at ease with what we were about to do. But then again I guess he was used to it – this was how he made his living after all.
"It is stupid," he agreed, which surprisingly didn't really help boost my confidence. "Which is why they'll never expect it. It is also why the security is lowered around about this time of day and why we are going to do this now. Unless you've changed your mind?"
I shook my head even though I wanted to scream 'Yes!' I had to do this.
"Then stop complaining, and get a move on."
"I'm not complaining," I grouched but I shut up when he shot me a glare. He might be my father but he was also kinda scary. For a Moroi.
We arrived at the cells and my palms began to sweat as nervousness took over. There was only one tired-looking guardian stationed outside the entrance who would need to be incapacitated before we went inside.
"Alright, Kiz, do your stuff. And remember; make sure he doesn't see you or it's all over."
I nodded and crept forward, making sure I was behind the guardian at all times. He was tall and strongly built but after so many training lessons with Dimitri I was used to fighting such opponents. When I was about two feet away from him he seemed to finally sense me and began to turn. I took that as my queue and swung my arm up landing a neat blow on the side of his head with the blunt end of my stake. He was unconscious instantly.
"Good job. Let's get moving." Abe sidled up to me and put a commanding hand on my shoulder.
"I feel so guilty." The words were out before I could stop them.
Abe paused and glanced back at me.
"Feel guilty later. Right now we need to move. We haven't much time."
I nodded and dragged the guardian into an alcove where he should remain out of sight. I then followed my father down the steps into the jail.
Only two guardians were stationed below, one for each prisoner. We had expected this and had planned accordingly. I snuck into the darkest corner of the corridor and waited.
"Help!" Abe's surprisingly convincing cry broke the silence. "Someone help!"
The sound of feet immediately headed in our direction and I held my stake at the ready. As they turned the corner I delivered the swift blows the side of their heads, sending them both into an unconscious heap on the floor.
"Excellent," Abe praised me cheerfully. "I'll search them for the keys."
I nodded as he pulled a pair of latex gloves out of his pocket – the type seen on TV that they used at crime scenes.
He searched the guardian's quickly and efficiently not wasting anytime. He pulled out the ring of keys that held so much promise and grinned at me.
"Let's go cause some havoc."
I tried to smile but it fell flat because of the nervous pounding of my heart. Abe nodded in understanding before stepping forward and unceremoniously unlocking the door to Robert's cell.
Robert was sitting upright on his bed watching us expectantly, a small smile on his face.
"Victor told me you would come, brave guardian."
I scowled at him.
"I don't think I'm much of a guardian anymore," I mutter mulishly.
Robert shook his head.
"You are a guardian of the weak and the vulnerable. That is the best protector there is."
I didn't know what to say to that so I remained silent instead pushing the cell door open wider in obvious invitation. Robert smiled sadly and stood up. As we passed Victor's cell on the way out Robert paused and looked on at him wistfully. Victor was sitting up on the bed, his expression peaceful and full of relief.
"Take good care of yourself, my brother," he whispered. Robert sniffed and a lump formed in my throat when I realised Robert was crying silently.
"I will, for you," he promised but Victor shook his head.
"No, do it for yourself. It is time for you to live for yourself."
Robert didn't answer but only bowed his head once and began walking again.
"My brother is right Rosemarie," Victor whispered. "You are the best kind of guardian."
I didn't want to think about that just then so I just nodded my head and followed Robert out of the cells.
~o~oo~o~
It was over an hour later when I finally collapsed into bed. Abe and I had guided Robert across the court towards the garages, using Robert's compulsion on the few people we passed. A car was waiting for us, organised by Abe, who promised me he would see Robert to the nearest airport and get him out of the county. He also promised to have a safe house set up for him and to make sure he was well cared for as his needs demanded. It was the best I could ask for.
As I shut my eyes and finally surrendered to the darkness of sleep it was the knowledge that it really was all over.
AN/
Gah!
That's it everyone, this is the last full chapter. There will be a short epilogue just to tie up the loose ends. I want to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, favourited and/or alerted this story. I can't believe I got such an amazing response on my first multi-chapter story. Thank-you all so much.
One last time, tell me what you think!
Translations (Turkish):
Diyarında – in hell
MJ
Xxx