Part Three

RPOV—One Week Later

Pure-white light shone in the darkness. Mother stood before me with her arms outstretched, her hazel eyes sparkling with eternal love. Her beautiful, auburn curls floated like a cloud, and her rare smile rivaled the radiance of the sun. Everything was silent—perfectly silent—and I knew that this was it. This was where I belonged.

Heaven was my new home.

However, the silence suddenly broke. Voices shoved their way into my ears, meshed into a disorienting cacophony. The calmness I'd felt dissipated as my body started twitching. Mother was ripped away from me and replaced by a man, as the heavenly light transformed into something dimmer.

"Oh my god, she's awake. She's finally awake!" the man cheered. My vision focused after several moments, and I found him staring back at me, his chestnut-brown eyes watering with tears. My heart swelled as I realized who he was.

Father.

I tried to sit upright, but my gaze automatically blurred, and a stiff object that was around my neck bumped against my chin. I must've looked as if I was about to pass out, because multiple hands immediately grabbed me, pushing me down until my back touched the bed I was apparently laying on. A gigantic sigh left my mouth, and when I gulped, my throat burned.

When was the last time I had water?

"You need to take it easy, Roza," an accented voice advised. "You've been unconscious for a while." I turned my head towards it source, and my stomach fluttered with butterflies as I saw who it was.

Cesarevich Dimitri.

His chocolate-brown eyes had dark, half-circles underneath them. His silky, shoulder-length hair was in vicious tangles, and paleness robbed the tan of his skin…I wanted to touch him so badly and let him know that I was okay, yet the guilt that lingered in his gaze stopped me from doing so. "I'm sorry, Roza," my love proclaimed. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

"It's not your fault, comrade." Suddenly, awful memories of my tragedy surfaced. I remembered fighting with Czar Aleksandr and getting sexually and physically assaulted. I remembered Tasha's cold and heartless stare. I remembered hanging from a chandelier with a noose around my neck. And then, the blackness had come…

My heart began hammering in my chest, and air left my mouth in ragged breaths. I could feel the object around my neck tightening, squeezing my throat like a hand. The light started to fade, and I desperately tried to get out of bed, screaming as Cesarevich Dimitri and Father's hands touched me.

I had to get away; I had to get out of here. If I didn't, I was going to die. But no matter what I did, I couldn't escape. "Let go of me," I demanded. "Let go of me this instant!" It felt like I was struggling forever, until a frightened, female voice spoke.

"Please stop. You're scaring her!" Immediately, Father and Cesarevich Dimitri obeyed. I collided with the bed, hyperventilating as my body shook from the fall. I turned my head to the feminine voice and found Lissa standing against a dark, red wall. Her jade-green eyes were bloodshot, and her pale face was stained with tears.

She seemed so sad and disturbed...

Father sat down beside me, his hand reaching out to stroke my hair. "We're sorry for frightening you, sweetheart. We should've known it would trigger memories of the attack."

I didn't understand why he was apologizing. It wasn't like he had tried to terrify me on purpose. My mind had done that all on its own. I gave him a weak smile. "It's okay." I then looked around to see where we were, noticing the Russian monarch portraits, polished furniture, and chandeliers. Faint sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains; it was probably early evening. It looked like one of the guest bedchambers in the Russian royal palace, but I decided to ask anyway. "Where are we?" I curiously wondered.

"We're in my palace," Cesarevich Dimitri answered. He came to the empty spot on my right and sat down on the bed, which dipped from his weight. He placed his hand in mine and interlaced our fingers. "We brought you here as soon as we realized you were alive." He choked once those words left him.

I couldn't believe I had survived. Being dead had felt so real, but I supposed I really had been unconscious this whole time. I was extremely grateful to still be alive, but now I had to live with the painful trauma that attack had left behind. My blood boiled as my thoughts drifted to Tasha and Czar Aleksandr again.

I hoped they'd suffer just as much as I had.

"One of the royal doctors has been taking care of you this past week," Father explained. "She gave your wounds some healing cream to prevent infection, but she said you'll have scars, due to how critical they were. You'll also have some short-term memory loss, restlessness, and traumatic stress."

How could I almost have had my life taken away from me? What had I ever done to deserve such pain and hatred? Because of Tasha and Czar Aleksandr, I was now stripped of my beauty and sanity. Were they satisfied now? Had they finally gotten what they'd wanted?

Lissa walked over to the ebony desk and grabbed its chair. She shuffled to my bedside and placed the chair next to where I lay, holding my hand once she sat down. Fresh tears ran down her cheeks. "Lady Ozera needs to be punished for what she's done to you. I can't believe Christian's aunt committed such a treacherous deed." Lissa used her other hand to caress the object around my neck—a brace. "She even broke your poor, precious neck…" she choked, her angelic face crumpled.

"I can't believe it either," Cesarevich Dimitri lowly said, flabbergasted and disappointed. "She was such a good woman, a good friend. How could she have done this to Rose? To Christian? To me?" He let go of my hand and covered his face with his own. "Our friendship is ruined. Absolutely ruined."

Cesarevich Dimitri's lament stabbed my heart. Knowing that his ex-partner and childhood friend planned to murder his love interest had to have been the ultimate betrayal; I was certain he'd never speak to Tasha again. However, I believed that once I informed his father had been the one to commit the crime, he'd be feeling incredibly worse.

Gingerly, I placed my hand on Cesarevich Dimitri's thigh. His dark head lifted at my touch, curiosity swimming in his chocolate-brown eyes. "When I tell you what I'm about to say, will you promise me you'll stay calm?" I softly begged.

Lissa squeezed my hand nervously. "What are you talking about, Rose?"

"Okay…" Cesarevich Dimitri's features filled with immense confusion. "I promise."

I gulped and took a deep breath. "Your father was the one who assaulted and attempted to kill me. Lady Ozera only planned it."

DPOV

My entire body seemed to shut down, once those words left Rose's mouth. I couldn't believe the person who'd caused her such pain and suffering was the same one who had harmed me. It was like her and I were officially bound in some demented way, truly connected by a monster who loved torture more than love itself.

I clenched my fists and felt my blood burning from the anger that torched my veins. My father had hurt my family, and he paid for every amount of damage he'd done to them. Now, he had hurt Rose—my dearest Roza—and he was going to pay even more for what he'd inflicted upon her.

He was going to pay with his pathetic, disgraceful life.

"I'm going to kill him!" I almost didn't recognize that it was me saying that sentence. I'd never thought I could hold such venom in my voice, but I supposed my father brought out the worst in me, a dark side I buried deep within myself.

Lord Mazur widened his eyes at my tone, while Rose and Lissa flinched. I didn't know how much I was scaring or worrying them, but it was probably a significant amount. I perfectly understood their reaction, though. If someone else had said that, I'd be on edge as well.

I shot off the bed and began pacing around the bedchamber, running a hand through my hair and swearing in Russian all over the place. Rose and Lissa still watched me with concern, but Lord Mazur now had a smirk on his face.

I was glad he agreed with me. My son-of-a-bitch father deserved to be destroyed by me, and me only.

"What will your family think, once they find out?" Rose suddenly asked, snapping me out of my seething rage. I froze in my place, staring at the red, vintage-patterned wall before me. I didn't even know how I was going to tell my mother and sisters about what my father had done to Rose, and that it was all Tasha's idea. If I bluntly told everything, it'd shatter them. However, if I spared all the gruesome details, they'd imagine the worst. Either way, their response wouldn't be great.

God, I wished this didn't have to happen. I'd never wanted any of this mess to happen.

Suddenly, the mahogany door crept open, and Jill slowly entered the bedchamber with Dr. Olendzki. Rose's younger stepsister went to the end of the bed while Dr. Olendzki sat to the right side of Rose, filling the space I'd occupied. She touched Rose's arm with an aging hand. "I'm happy to see that you're awake, Miss Mazur," my royal physician said with a smile. "How are you feeling?"

Rose tried to sit up, but she lay down after struggling. "I feel thirsty and sore," she replied. She then touched her neck brace. "How long will it take for my neck to heal? And, will the scars I'll get from my wounds ever go away?" Rose tried to casually ask her questions, but I knew she was afraid.

It pained me witnessing her in this state. She'd already lost her mother, and now, she had to suffer even more—practically for the rest of her life.

She was too young to have her innocence robbed.

"It'll take eight weeks, at most, for your neck to heal. And, unfortunately, most of your scars will remain permanent." Dr. Olendzki's pretty, middle-aged face saddened. "I'm so sorry you had to experience such traumatic violence, Miss Mazur. Please excuse me while I go get you some water and pain relievers."

After the physician left the bedchamber, Jill came over to me. She looked as exhausted and solemn as Lissa, with her puffy eyes and extremely pale skin. Her body seemed thinner than before, and I was about to ask her when she'd last eaten, but Jill opened her mouth and quietly said, "Your mother told me that she wants to talk to you. She didn't specify when, but I think now would be a good time to speak with her."

I flicked my gaze to Rose, who was being cheered up by her father and Lissa. It warmed my heart that they were able to cast aside their sadness to help her get in a good mood. Rose immensely needed all the happiness she could get, because her recovery wasn't going to be smooth. There were still her familial issues, our relationship, and the fate of her attackers and friends that had to be resolved.

Dr. Olendzki returned, after a few more minutes passed. She gave a glass of water and some type of pain reliever—opiates, to be exact—to Rose, whose features brightened once she saw them. My love eagerly consumed the medicine, but I wasn't too thrilled. Opiates were effective at eradicating pain, but that relief came with a price: addiction. I knew Dr. Olendzki wouldn't give Rose large amounts of opiates—Lord Mazur certainly would've fought against it—but the possibility of it happening made me uncomfortable. Especially since Rose was now falling into a trancelike state.

"Oh my, this is amazing! I feel so much better," she said in a delirious voice, her chestnut-brown eyes as glossy as mirrors. "I'm in Heaven!" Lissa and Lord Mazur cracked a smile, while Jill relaxed beside me. I was glad to see everyone at ease, but I couldn't watch Rose like this. I hated addictive substances, and knowing that my Roza was taking them was just too much for me. Everything about this situation was too much…

"You're right, Jill," I said, startling her.

Her relaxation became confusion, as her light brown brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I should talk to my mother right now. Thanks for informing me." Realization filled Jill's jade-green eyes, and she nodded, offering me a small smile. I returned it then trekked to Rose, bending down to kiss her cold and clammy forehead. "I'm going to take care of some things, but I'll come back to check on you once I'm finished," I softly told her.

Rose gave me a dazed smile. "Okay, comrade."

Trusting that Jill would inform her sister and stepfather about where I was going, I wordlessly exited the guest bedchamber as Rose's giggles filled the space I left behind.

Finding my mother wasn't difficult. She was in her study, a place where she spent a lot of time in the evening, sitting at her obsidian-black desk with her head in her hands. I was sure she'd intended to work on more queenly matters, but with everything that had occurred this past week, she couldn't find the motivation to concentrate on anything.

I slowly walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. My mother didn't lift her head, so I just took a deep breath and said in Russian, "Jill told me that you wanted to talk to me."

"Yes, Dimka. I do." My mother turned around, and it broke my heart to see her warm, brown eyes bloodshot from crying. "How could Natasha have done such a thing to Roza? I can't believe she had the sadism to hurt her like that," she choked in Russian, her voice contaminated with betrayal. A lump formed in my throat when my mother clutched my shirt and unleashed a new set of tears. "Why did she do this, Dimka? Why did she have to do something so horrible that I'll have to punish her, to ruin her own life?"

Because I betrayed her by loving Rose…

I hated that my mother was hurting from this whole disaster. Tasha had been like a daughter to her, since we were—had been—such close friends. She had been such a nice, fun-loving, and understanding woman. It was unfathomable how Tasha had darkened into a monster, how she had lost her wonderful soul. My mother probably felt like she'd been living a lie, but it wasn't only unique to her.

We were all living it.

"I know, мать. I know," I cooed, embracing her and stroking her loose, dark hair as she continued clinging to me. She was already so unraveled from hearing about Tasha, and I just knew that once I told her my father, the man who'd hurt her beyond imagination, had been the one to physically torture Rose, she'd collapse. Nevertheless, I braced myself for her breakdown as I carefully said, "Yet, Tasha wasn't the only one involved."

My mother instantly stopped crying, and she pulled away from me. Confusion and curiosity swam in her chocolate-brown eyes. "What do you mean, Dimka?" she asked, afraid to hear the name I was going to say.

I stood there for several moments, my heart racing as sweat coated my skin and pounding blood echoed in my ears. I licked my lips for what seemed like a thousand times, fidgeting my fingers and darting my gaze all about the study. I can't tell her, I can't her. I. Can't. Tell. Her.

"Dimka, who else was involved?" my mother pressed, her voice now filled with frustration. There was no way I could get out of this. She needed to know, and getting her upset was never a smart thing to do. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, praying to God that she'd be able to handle the reveal well.

Once I finally mustered up the courage, I looked her dead in the eye. "Отец," was all I said. My mother's eyes grew wider than saucers, her body as frozen as a statue. I wanted to say something—anything—but the words just couldn't leave my mouth. Her skin paled to the lightest shade, and I immediately drew her into my arms and laid her head on my chest.

I was surprised she hadn't broken into tears over what my father had done to Rose, but I supposed I understood why. He had been defined by cruelty long ago; his recent crimes weren't shocking. Whereas, Tasha deserved to be cried over; she had never acted out cruelty until now.

A miserably long silence passed between us, until my mother ended our embrace. She wiped newly spilled tears from her devastated face and stood up from her seat, smoothing out the wrinkles in her flowing, pearl-pink dress. "I'm going to tell your sisters about Aleksandr's involvement," she weakly said, already moving to the closed door.

I was about to let her leave, but a thought appeared in my mind, almost out of nowhere. I raced to her and grabbed onto her wrist, which caused my mother to stop with a sudden impatience. "I apologize, мать, but I was just wondering if Admiral Tanner's fleet returned to the palace yet," I quickly asked, not wanting to irritate her any further.

Prince Adrian and Princess Sydney had been lost at sea for almost a week and a half now. If they ended up being found, we'd all have one less matter to worry about. If not, I feared it'd only cause more stress for Rose.

Please say yes...Please say yes...

A flash of sorrow crossed her face, but she swiftly hid it. My hope vanished. "No, they haven't. I'm sorry, Dimka, but it's going to take some time. You'll just have to be patient," my mother told me. She squeezed my hand and planted a comforting kiss on my cheek, but it hardly lifted my spirits. "I'm sure Prince Adrian and his wife will be found alive. Have a little faith."

I cracked a weak smile and let go of her wrist. My mother gave me one, last look before leaving me all alone in her study. The room suddenly fell cold, and I sat down in her chair, placing my elbows on the desk to lay my head in my hands. I closed my eyes and released a bitter laugh.

What was faith going to do?

Author's Note

Yay! Rose has awakened! How do you think she's going to cope with everything she experienced? How will everyone else cope?

Thanks for the follows, favs, and reviews! Feel free to tell me your thoughts on this chapter.

Until next time...