Chapter Twenty Five

RPOV

There was a time when I would not have been too thrilled to run into Mia. She had tried to make our lives miserable and had almost succeed but ever since Spokane and losing her mother she has grown on me. They things we experienced together as a group caused us all to grow up and realize that the petty shit that we use to argue about in school just wasn't worth it. The real world was far crueler than any of us had the capacity to be. Life and death was real and everything was else was just meager bull shit none of us had time for anymore.

The last time that I saw Mia it was at Mason's funeral. But it felt like it could have been a year. Even though I would normally compare her to a doll with her short stature and hair curled into perfect ringlets today she didn't even bother going through the trouble. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail, no make up and her skin showed signs of the outdoors. The faint tan that caressed her skin was normally unheard of on the skin of Moroi since they had an aversion to sunlight. This was the first time she looked her age.

"If I didn't know any better Rose I would say that you were checking me out." Mia joked as we entered the cafe.

"If I swung that way I would be. But I was just taking in you new appearance it looks good on you."

"Well thanks Rose. I can say the same for you as well. Happy and in love looks good on you. So how has life been at the academy?"

The conversation flowed easily around all of us. I didn't realize how much we all had to catch up on even those of us that still saw each other everyday but never really sat down to talk about what was going on in our lives. During the whole conversation all I could think about was how my life was changing between seeing ghost, the darken feeling in my thought and the black rings overshadowing my aura.

"How did your meeting with the Queen go?" Christian asked Lissa snapping me from my thoughts.

"Not so bad," she told him. "I mean, not great either. But she didn't yell or humiliate me, so that's a start."

"You should stop being so modest Lissa. I was there in your head." I said bumping my shoulder with hers. "She stood her ground. You guys should have say her. She made me very proud."

"Do you know how Adrian got us here?" Christian asked me as he leaned back in his seat playing with Lissa's hair.

"He talked his aunt down. Apparently he harassed her so much that she finally gave up. It means a lot that he would do that for us considering he didn't and doesn't consider this to be a good idea. He doesn't want me anywhere near Victor Dashkov but he understand that this is something that we all need to do."

"Well that was sweet of him. I'm glad he turned out to be more than what everyone said he was." Mia said sincerely.

"Yea me too." I said smiling and a blush coating my cheeks. Adrain Ivashkov was the best thing to ever happen to me.

We all set around and talked for about another thirty minutes before Mia had to leave so we all decide to go our own separate ways as well.

"It was great seeing you guys, we have to hang out some more before you all have to go back." She told us before she went around the table and hugged us all. "Oh I almost forgot. Some court clerk gave this to me to give to you Rose." Mia said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

"Thanks?" I said more like a question than a answer as I opened it up as she left the cafe.

Rose,

I was so happy to hear about your arrival. I'm sure it'll make tomorrow's proceedings that much more entertaining. I've been curious for quite some time about how Vasilisa is doing, and your romantic escapades are always an amusing diversion. I can't wait to share them in the courtroom tomorrow.

Best,

V.D

"Who is it from?" asked Eddie as he came up beside me.

I hastily shoved the paper back into pockets before he could see. "It's from no one Eddie. No one that matters."

~*~UR~*~

Though I knew that I should go to Adrain about the letter I made my way towards Dimitri's room. The only reason I decided to go there was because Victor Dashkov was also a threat to Dimitri's career. Though things went south with us I didn't want the man's career to be tanked.

When I reached his rooms that he shared with Tasha I lightly banged on the doors. I didn't take him long before he answered the door. "I have to talk to you." When he let me in I I immediately handed him the letter.

"V.D.-"

"Yeah, I know." He said to me as he handed the note back.

"What are you going to do? I mean the threat that he is making in that letter is enough to get you sacked."

Dimitri didn't answer and I could tell he was assessing every angle of this, just like he would in a fight. When he finally came to some conclusion he pulled out his cell. "Give me a moment."

While he talked on the phone in Russian I might add so I zero understanding of what was being said I looked around his and Tasha's Rooms. It wasn't as nice as the place I was sharing with Adrain but it still looked homey. Looked more lived in than Adrian's place and it matched Tasha's personality. It gave me the urge to actually do some decorating to Adrian's place to make it into our place when we came to live here after graduation.

"What's going on?" I asked when he finished.

"I'll let you know soon. For now we wait."

"Great." I said sarcastically.

As I stood waiting and he sat down I noticed his western novels on the coffee table.

"Why do you read these?"

"Some people read books for fun." he observed.

"Hey watch the dig. I do read books. I read them to solve mysteries that threaten my bests friend's life and sanity. I don't think reading a cowboy book will do that."

"like any book, it's an escape. And there something I don't know. Appealing about the Old West. No rules. Everyone just lives by their own code. You don't have to be tied down by others' ideas of right or wrong in order to bring justice."

"Wait," I laughed. "I thought I was the one to break rules."

"I didn't say that I wanted to. I just see the appeal of that life."

"You can't fool me, comrade. You want to put n the cowboy hat and keep lawless bank robbers in line."

"No time I have enough trouble keeping you out of trouble." I grinned at him. It was like old times before he broke my heart and I met Adrain. Only this time there were no romantic feelings just friendship. Well the beginning of a fresh start.

Before anything else could be said his phone rang. And again the conversation was in Russian.

"Alright let's go."

"Uh where are we going?" I asked confused as we made to move to the door.

"To see Victor Dashkov."

"Oh" was all I could say.

I knew that going was going to get me in some serious trouble with Adrain. It was strain enough for him to allow me into the court room. Being just feet if not inches away from Victor….I was in for a real talking too….