Chapter 34: To Little Too Late

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy

So warning before you read this chapter just try not to crucify me at the end. Everything happens for a reason=)

DPOV

It was a strange, but pleasant surprise that Rose had not only cooked me breakfast, but had agreed to go somewhere at talk out our issues. I knew the perfect place. I was going to show her once and for all that she was my number one priority and I loved her more than anything in this world.

I smirked as she pulled he hand away from me like I'd burned her with a match. I knew she still felt something for me and it amused me that she kept trying to hide it because her face was an open book.

She was silent as I explained about the house and I thought I was finally getting through to her when she burst into tears and fled the opposite direction back towards the palace.

I followed close behind and watched her reunite with her brother from a distance. I'd spoken with him a few days ago and although I think he'd rather see me hung than play nice, he agreed to a cease fire if I'd allow him to see Rose.

It was entirely unorthodox to entertain a future king with whom I had no real prior contact with, but I needed Rose to trust me and understand that she wouldn't lose her family or her friends if she stayed with me. I would allow her whatever she pleased as long as it was safe.

I watched as she broke down in his arms and he comforted her like I would for any one of my sisters.

I moved closer earning me a dirty look from Prince Mazur as they began speaking rapidly in Turkish. I decided to leave the two of them alone as they hadn't seen each other in a long time. I had plenty of things to do starting with scheduling our first public appearance.

"What is the Mazur Prince doing here?" Karolina asked me as I entered the living area. The kids were playing on the floor, Mama was reading on the sofa and I was stupefied to see Babushka sitting in her rocking chair knitting away. She'd always lurked around the palace, but these past few years she'd made herself even more scarce only deigning to grace us with her presence on holidays and birthdays.

"He's visiting his sister. Does it bother you?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Not in the least. I just wish my former husband had been as good to me as you are to Roza." If I wasn't mistaken she sounded a bit jealous.

"He never would have permitted you to visit. You know how he felt about entertaining those who were higher in stature than he was," she grumbled.

"That is why we never see Sonya isn't it?" Vika asked. I hadn't realized she was in the room.

"Come here kiddo," I said scooping her up into a giant bear hug trying to distract her. I didn't want her focusing too much on this royal stuff yet. She was too young.

"Put me down you oaf!"she shouted pounding on my back.

"I think it's time we had a rematch on your xbox," I told her.

"Really?" she asked, her face lighting up. I nodded.

"You'd better have some of those Cheetos left for me. I hope you didn't let Rose see them. The whole stash will be gone."

"No, I still have some. You're right though she eats like a horse."

RPOV

"Abi, I can't believe you're here. How did you get in?" It wasn't often a future king entertained another future king without some sort of grand fanfare.

"Your fiancé extended an invitation," he replied following me to my room.

"This is where he put you?" he asked looking around the room, the distaste evident on his face.

"I didn't want to be close to him so he put me over here at my request," I said feeling the need to defend Dimitri. He had after all arranged this visit for me.

"I see. How soon can you be ready?" he asked.

"Ready for what?"

"To get the hell out of here of course. I told you I would figure out a plan and I have. Pack whatever you think you'll need and let's get a move on it."

"Abi, there's no way I'm going to make it out of here without him knowing."

"It doesn't matter. My guards will cause a distraction and we will make it to the plane."

"Even if we do, Baba will find me. You know he will."

"I have a plan," he said sitting me down so he could explain.

My eyes widened at the severity of his plan. It would definitely ensure that no one would come looking for me, but I didn't know if I could put the ones I loved through such a tragic lie.

"You want out don't you?" he asked. "This would be a permanent out. You couldn't come back. You understand that right?"

I nodded not sure what to do. I'd been waiting for this exact plan for the past three weeks, but now that it was on the table, I was having doubts. Would it really be so bad to stay here with Dimitri? He really was willing to give me everything I wanted. The only problem was producing an heir. I was not going to do that and it would eventually cause a rift between us.

If I did leave though, I'd have to cut all contact with everyone I'd ever met including Lissa and the girls, Abi and Alberta.

"What's the matter? I didn't expect you to have to think about it. This is what you want isn't it?"

I nodded and began throwing things into a bag. When I got to my scrapbook and camera I shoved them both in the bag wanting to at least have some memories of my friends even if I never saw them again.

"Just give me the word and I'll text my guards," he said.

I hesitated and in that moment I knew there was no turning back. Once I decided to run, it was a done deal.

"Rose, answer me this. Do you love him?" Abi asked.

"What? Why would you think that?"

"Well I did listen to many audio tapes in which you declared your undying love for the man over and over," he pointed out rolling his eyes.

"Rose, you let him have you. For God's sake, I hope you loved him at some point."

"I do. I did. I don't know. I'm so confused," I cried tossing my bag on the floor.

"It is okay to be happy here if that's what you want. You can change your mind you know. Things aren't always as black and white as they seem."

I sat next to him on the couch resting my head on his shoulder.

"I do love him, but I hate what he did and I don't know if I can handle the pressure that comes with being his wife."

"I hate to defend the man, but he does seem to let you do as you please. He doesn't seem like the tyrant you make him out to be. If he was, he would never have invited me here. It's risky for him to show favor towards one nation over another, especially at this crucial time. Can I ask why you were crying earlier? If he did something so help me I will make him pay," he threatened.

"Relax, he didn't do anything. It was just me being stupid."

He shot me a look that said he wasn't going to give up until he got the whole story.

I sighed. "He took me out to the edge of the property to show me a house he's having built."

"What's so special about building a house?' he asked.

"That's what I asked him. He said it was going to be for us to live in after we are married."

"Just the two of you?" he questioned.

I nodded.

"Is that something you want?"

As much as I hated to admit it, I loved the idea of us living in a small house just the two of us. It would definitely help me feel better about being trapped here like a rat in a cage.

"I don't know. It sounds good in theory, but I'm just not sure if it will be enough to make me feel comfortable staying with him.

"Rose, I know how you feel about all of this, but I have to say that even though I came up with this crazy scheme and I'm fully willing to go through with it, I was kind of hoping I wouldn't have to. I was hoping that maybe you would find peace with him."

"I want to Abi. I'm just so scared. What if I'm not a good Queen? What if I can't take being here at some point and I need to bust out? I just hate feeling like I don't have any other option."

"I know you do, but if we do this, then this is it. This is goodbye to me, to your friends and to anyone else who you ever cared about. Do you think you can do that? Do you think you could stay away from him forever?"

A sob caught in my throat as I realized my time to decide was winding down.

LPOV

"Tomorrow is my last final and then it's off to Russia to talk some sense into that best friend of mine," I told Mia as we headed for home after a grueling day of exams.

"You're really going huh?" she asked.

I nodded. Christian and I had patched things up for the most part. I was still cautious about what was and was not a lie, but all in all we were working towards starting over in a healthy relationship. I had agreed to accompany him to Russia for the summer so we could see where we stood romantically, but also because Rose was in desperate need of a little friendly advice and there was a royal wedding to plan which Christian said not one thing had been done yet.

She was so getting an earful when I got there. They needed to decide on food, she needed a dress, bridesmaids, color scheme, floral arrangements. There was hardly time for any of it with the wedding being less than six weeks away.

According to Christian there had been somewhat of a thaw between the two these last few days, but she still needed a push in the right direction. So here I sat amiss all my things trying to decide what I couldn't live without for the next three months or so.

"Hey, do you think maybe I could hitch a ride with you guys to the airport?" Jill asked coming into my room. She had a rolling suitcase with her and a look of determination on her face.

"You decided to come?" I asked thrilled that she had decided to fight for her relationship with Mason. They were so cute together.

"I wasn't going to and Stan said I couldn't get the time off now that Rose is gone."

"What changed your mind?"

"These," she said pointing to a beautiful bouquet of red roses with a card attached.

"This was attached." She handed me an envelope.

~Jilly Bean

I know that everything has been a shock and I wish you would give me the chance to make up for being an idiot. I want to come see you, but I can't leave Rose unprotected. I'm hoping that you still feel enough for me that you will use this when you are ready.

All my love,

~Mason

Inside was an open-ended plane ticket to Omsk.

"Wow, this must have cost him a fortune."

"I know. I can't take being away from him any longer. I need to see him even if it makes me crazy."

"Why would it make you crazy?"

"I sort of quit the diner and told Stan to stick it where the sun don't shine," she said with a sheepish look on her face.

"You didn't?" I gasped.

"Oh yes I did. After the way he treated Rose when she was sick and the way he treats us all on a daily basis, he deserved it."

"You tell him sister!"

"Does Rose know we are coming?" she asked.

I shook my head. "I thought it might be a nice surprise."

DPOV

I had a few things to take care of before I made it to Vika's room like promised. When I got there she was sitting on the floor with her head in her hands.

"What is it?" I asked wondering if she felt ill or something.

She lifted her eyes to meet mine and they were rimmed with red and her cheeks stained with tears.

"Why are you crying?" I asked rushing to her side.

"Why does Roza hate you so much?" she asked.

"What? Why would you ask that?" I wondered what she knew.

"I overheard her talking with her brother. She's planning to leave you, you know," she said.

I sighed taking a seat beside her.

"I know," I said sadly. I had a strong feeling that her brother would convince her to leave with him.

"If you know then why aren't you going to stop her?" she cried.

"Because Vika, as much as I love Roza, I've realized that the best thing I can do for her is let her make her own decisions and if that means not marrying me, then I will have to live with that."

"Don't you love her?"

"Of course I do and that is why I want her to be happy. Being here with me makes her miserable and I don't want to see her live that way."

"She says she loves you, why would she leave?"

"Vika, not all princesses dream of marrying a prince. Roza's dream is to be free and that is something that try as I might, I will never be able to offer her."

"Free?" she asked.
"You will understand someday when you are older. I just want you to know that I am going to do my best to allow you to be your own person and to make your own decisions regarding your life."

"So you're just going to let her get on that plane?" she asked suddenly jumping to her feet.

I let out a breath of air.

"She needs to decide to be with me for herself. The more I interfere, the more I take away her freedom."

"So you're okay with her leaving?"

"No, but sometimes you have to let the thing you love the most go. I want her to be happy."

"Dimka you don't understand. The plane she's going to be on is going to crash!" she cried frantically.

"What? Who told you that?"

"I overheard some of the guards. They're planning to jump out of the plane with Roza still on there. They want her dead. I'm sure of it."

My heart leapt into my throat, adrenaline surging through my veins. This was my worst fear come to life. We had only just announced our engagement two days ago and already threats on her life were pouring into the palace. This had to be a set up. Those guards couldn't possibly work for her father. I had to get to her before it was too late.

"Why the hell didn't you say something sooner?" I cried.

"I thought you would stop her! How was I supposed to know you would let her leave?"

I ran as fast as I could to her suite, but she wasn't there.

"The air strip!" Vika cried having followed me.

I took off in the direction of the garage, fumbled with the keys to the closest vehicle cursing myself for not being more on top of things as the engine roared to life.

Vika climbed into the seat next to me as I peeled out of the garage in the direction of the airstrip.

I parked the car half hazzardly vacating the vehicle without shutting off the engine.

I fell to my knees and wept at the sight of the plane flying off into the distance. I was too late. She was gone and I was too late.

"Dimka, I'm sorry," Vika cried throwing her arms around me. We sat there watching as the plane flew higher and higher taking the woman I loved to her untimely death.

Please put away the bow and arrows=( I know you hate cliffhangers, but that's the fun of it. I promise to post in a timely manner and I would never leave you hanging too long. Answer me these questions. Do you think Dimitri can stop the plane before it crashes? Why did Rose leave? I thought they were really making progress. Could there be foul play involved? Maybe she didn't leave of her own will. Who do the guards work for? Only I know the answers and the better your guesses, the faster I will reveal the next chapter. You know you love me=)