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-GuardianRoseHathaway
Chapter Thirty Five
I followed Victor and Robert out of the room, ignoring the stares of everyone. I closed the door of the room behind me and walked behind them the few feet to their door, where Victor had already run the key through the scanner and opened the door. I walked in, followed by the two men. The door was quickly shut closed and locked.
Through the wall I could hear the muffled sounds of arguing, which made me sigh and wish I could just slip into Lissa's head right now. As it was, I was uncomfortable, but I pushed it aside.
"What?" I asked, plopping down into the chair next to the window. Robert took a seat on the bed next to the wall, whereas Victor sat across from me at the small table, his back to a corner. I wondered where all his people were; it always seemed as if they disappeared. But I pushed the thought away and tried to focus on Victor.
"If you remember, I mentioned that I knew something about the... identity of the true killer of the queen," he reminded me. I nodded. While the idea that I would find Lissa's sister, and then actually finding her, had pushed it far out of my mind, it now was front and center. Of course I remembered. "I-" He started to speak, but I cut him off.
"How?" I asked, leaning forward and placing my elbows on the table as I clasped my hands in front of me. Victor looked confused.
"How what?" he asked. I rolled my eyes and ground my teeth together.
"How do you know who the killer is?" I asked. He shrugged and stared evenly at me.
"I just know. Isn't that enough?" he asked. I shook my head and leaned back, moving my hands to my lap.
"No, it really isn't. I don't trust you," I hissed. He smirked.
"Oh, really? Then why were you okay with leaving your dear friends in my care while you ran off?" he asked, his grin widening. I frowned.
"That was spirit. And I was checking on Liss- I don't have to explain myself to you," I yelled, suddenly angry. Why should I have to? His smile was nearly running from ear to ear.
"And that brings me back to not telling. Believe me, all will be revealed in time. But for now, we need to get your friends on the plane. I agree with your plan, except for one part. I don't think you need any protection, especially not from us. I don't believe that it will be necessary. And, might I add, it will make everything more suspicious if one less person comes back then went. Imagine what the court will think?" he said. I frowned. I hadn't even thought about that. But before I conceded that he was right, which I would really hate doing, I wanted to see more of what he thought.
"How so?" I snapped, as if I was really offended that he thought any part of my plan was less than perfect. He spread his arms wide.
"Why, a group your friends wanders off, and when they come back claim not to have seen you, or have been going to look for you. But, one of you is not here. Why? The story would be much more plausible if everyone goes back. My suggestion would be for Adrian to go with Abe instead of Dimitri; Dimitri and Vasilisa are obviously close, making him being with her all the more plausible. And Adrian and you were together, and are together in the eyes of the counsel and the court, so naturally he would go with your father to find Arielle and fulfill your wish. Send your mother with Abe and Adrian; in that way, everyone has a guardian. And it makes sense," he finished with a smirk.
I had to agree; it did make sense. I wished that I had thought of it. I nodded.
"I'll be making the necessary arrangements," I told him, without actually saying that I was using his modified version or that I thought it was good. "Now, why did you call me in here? I actually have people I like hanging out with in there," I said, pointing to the room were the arguments were still continuing. Victor smiled.
"By all means, join your friends. We can discuss the more important details after everyone leaves," he said, standing up and sweeping his arm out, as if inviting me to leave. I pushed my chair back and glared.
"I believe I will," I retorted, stomping out of the room and going to the next one. I reached out to open the door. But, of course, it needed a key. Which I didn't have.
I knocked twice, leaning against the door frame until finally the door swung open. Everyone became quiet as I walked in.
"What? Were you guys talking about me or something?" I joked, plopping down on the bed next to Lissa. Everyone was giving everyone else a look that clearly showed they were sending messages. Except I had no idea what they were talking about.
Instead of getting on their backs about it, I cleared my throat and directed their attention to me. Everyone looked over after another round of looks.
"Okay, so I thought about it, and I think that it would be best if everyone returns to court," I stated. Another round of looks were exchanged, irritating me.
"If you have something to say, just say it!" I snapped angrily. Lissa looked at me apologetically.
"We had a feeling this might happen. Rose, we know you can handle anything, but it would be better to have someone you can trust with you. Because unless your mind has been swiped and you have been compelled, there is no way you could trust Victor," she said gently. I frowned. Of course I didn't trust him, but at the moment he had information I needed. And he had helped find Lissa's sister... Of course,I had actually found her. But without the information he had given me, well, I might have walked right past the girl countless times and never known.
"Of course I don't trust him. But I can handle myself," I told her. Dimitri spoke.
"We know you can. But sometimes even the strongest people need some help," he said, giving me another Zen lesson without even trying. That was certainly one thing I hadn't missed.
"Rose, we just want to make sure that you are safe, too," Adrian put in. I smirked.
"Somehow I don't think that is going to work so well. You see, I am accused of murdering the queen and am up for execution," I reminded him, a hint of sarcasm marring my tone. Of course, everything I had said was true. But somehow... the sarcasm was still there.
But Adrian was serious. His eyebrows were pulled together, his mouth was curled down, and his green eyes were void of the usual light mirth. He shook his head.
"You know what I meant," he said wearily. I nodded.
"I do, but look at it this way. The court will be suspicious if someone doesn't come back. It will look weird, and they'll figure out that you were with me," I said. Lissa's eyes widened. After a second, she let out a gust of air.
"She's right," she said. I could feel the disappointment in her, burning through her.
"We could work it out where that wasn't the case," Dimitri interjected quietly. I turned to look at him; his brown eyes were trained on me.
"I am all ears," I said. One side of his mouth lifted slightly.
"First, what were the groupings going to be?" he asked.
"Lissa, you, and Christian. Abe, Adrian, my mother, and Arielle," I told him quickly. Christian snorted, drawing everyone's attention.
"Sorry, I just think you should send your mom with us, too. Then you would have the three A's," he chuckled. I rolled my eyes and refocused my attention on Dimitri.
"Well, Comrade?" I asked. Now his mouth curled even more at the familiar nickname.
"Christian's right. Send Janine with them, I'll stay behind with you. Abe can hire some guards," he said. I frowned.
"And how did you figure that?" I asked, actual curious but trying to exude anything but.
"Well, Abe and Adrian can say that I went with them initially and then decided to start looking for you after we found Arielle," he explained. Lissa and Christian exchanged a look and then Lissa turned to me.
"It could work," she murmured. I looked at her as if she was crazy.
"I don't like it," Adrian muttered. Of course he wouldn't. And then he sighed. "But at least you would have someone with you."
I was surprised. He actually thought this was a good idea? But I knew what it really was. He cared about me enough to want me to have someone who could help me, and who protect me. Dimitri fit both of those categories. So while he didn't want to have us alone, his want for my safety outweighed his want for me to be away from Dimitri.
I got up and crossed the room, wrapping my arms tightly around Adrian.
"Thank you. You really are way too good to me," I whispered into his ear. There was a stunned silence coming from every part of the room. Adrian wrapped his arms around me and hugged me back tightly, and then pushed me gently away.
"Everyone okay with it?" he asked. There were nods from every face.
"All right. Well, I guess it's settled." My eyes traveled to Dimitri, who stood with a very smug look on his face. This was going to be interesting.
Seriously? Adrian is the best. He definitely deserves someone else in his life, someone who isn't in love with someone else. And, Rose is going to have Dimitri with her. But anyway... what did you think of the chapter? Hope you enjoyed! And please review! I want to hear your thoughts! And thank you again to Ariana122. Your reviews are awesome!