Here I am to bring you another dose of weekly entertainment! I hope you are all well and that you are not going stir crazy with COVID. I know I am. I am so excited to share this chapter with you, it has been sitting in my thumb drive for almost two months now!
I am the only editor on this story, so please forgive me if there are errors. If you love it, awesome and let me know. If you hate it, well... that really sucks for me, doesn't it?
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Groaning as I roll over onto my side, I crack my eyes open to see reddish-brown hair, bright brown eyes, and a gummy smile. Blinking a few times and wince when Nadia's little hand fists a lock of my hair and yanks on it. I smile and try to untangle my hair from her hand and kiss it softly, pulling a gurgle from her. The older Nadia gets, the more her hair has a red tinge and it has made my Mom ecstatic.
"They both were up early, so I thought maybe they would go back to sleep in here. I was wrong," Dimitri chuckles, patting Artyom's bottom while he has tummy time on our bed. I lean down and plant a loud kiss on Nadia's cheek and pick her up, holding her up over me as I roll onto my back.
"Did you wake your Papa up at a ridiculous hour this morning?" I ask in a childish tone, lowering her back down to my face and I kiss her little mouth then push her back up again.
"Are you ready to go back to work?"
I nod while looking intently at Nadia. Lissa had pushed for me to take extended maternity leave, but I said that I wouldn't take a full year. There is too much to learn and understand before she is crowned in January, so I decided to take four months instead.
"I don't know how I'm going to leave the two of you all day long!" I sigh kissing Nadia again and placing her back on the bed and scoop Artyom up, giving him some love. Artyom seems to be a sucker for Mama lately, and always wants to be held against my chest, but I have no problems with that. We were fortunate that he outgrew his colic two weeks ago and he has been a much happier boy since.
"They're going to be with Adrian and Mia, it won't be that bad. Besides, Adrian has been chomping at the bit for "Uncle" time," Dimitri says softly, poking his tongue out at Nadia and making faces at her to make her laugh. Looking over my handsome fiancée, I notice he is already dressed, and I sigh, knowing I need to get dressed for work now. I blow a raspberry on my little man's cheek and set him down, rolling off the bed and stumbling to the closet. Pulling out a professional but pretty dress and the appropriate underwear, I walk back to the bed and lean down, kissing Dimitri intently before venturing to the shower.
Walking out into the kitchen after dressing, I pour a cup of coffee for Dimitri and me into travel mugs while nibbling on the piece of peanut butter and jam toast he left on the counter. I finish up and walk into the nursery and move to dress Nadia while Dimitri finishes with Artyom.
"Ready to go?" I ask picking up Nadia and holding her against my side. "Mhm," he hums and scoops Artyom up and puts his other hand on my back, guiding me out of the room.
Arriving at Adrian's a few minutes later I rap on the door, sighing while we wait for Adrian to answer. "It's only seven hours, Roza. You can do it," Dimitri says softly, and I nod with a weak smile.
Not a moment later Adrian opens the door with a big smile on his face. It's refreshing to see Adrian completely sober, and it seems to be suiting him well. He followed in Lissa's footsteps and went on medication that worked for him, and he can still access Spirit, but it doesn't push him to the bottle.
"I was starting to wonder if you were going to be late," Adrian says holding his hands out to take one of the twins, and Dimitri hands him Artyom, while I clutch Nadia a little closer to me. I don't think I'm ready to leave them alone to go back to work. "Hey, it's ok. They're going to be fine; Mia and I will send you hourly updates and photos ok?" Adrian says, trying to soothe me in my slight panic.
"You have all the phone numbers? And everything you need?" I ask, pouncing my baby on my hip. Adrian smiles while nodding, shifting to reach for Nadia while supporting Artyom. I hesitantly hand her over and kiss her little hand before kissing the top of Artyom's head. Dimitri says something quietly to Adrian and puts his hand on my shoulder, stirring me away from the front door as Adrian retreats into his house.
"They're fine," Dimitri soothes, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and kissing my head. While I've been off, Dimitri has been taking up a few shifts a week to help with Lissa's security, and I don't know how he can leave them all day. Voicing this opinion Dimitri chuckles and squeezes my arm gently. "The first few days were difficult, all I wanted to do was text you for updates and photos, but it got better once I got back into the routine."
I groan a little as we walk through the main lobby of the palace and wave at Lissa and Amilia who are waiting for us. Walking up and hugging Lissa tightly – tighter than necessary- I pull back and plaster a smile on my face.
"Ready for your first day?" Amilia asks, handing me a pile of files and a note pad. I look to Dimitri who is standing directly behind me and he gives me an encouraging smile but facing the two women in front of me again and giving a firm nod. Here goes nothing.
Today has been a clusterfuck. The first meeting back was chaos, more so because Lissa voiced that the graduate age for Dhampirs should not be lowered and the majority of the Royals are outraged. The Ozera, Szelsky, Zeklos and Voda representatives sided with Lissa – and Tatiana- but the rest were abrupt.
"Your so called advisor had her first kills at seventeen after being away from the academy for two years. That is proof they are ready!" Nathan Ivashkov squawkes from his seat next to Tatiana, slamming his fist down on the table.
At this point, I am at my boiling point. All I want to do was get up and leave to go snuggle my babies, but I know that I have to set them straight. I stand from my seat and snap my note pad down to grab the attention of the other patrons in the room.
"I had help! In case you have forgotten, a Moroi aided me in decapitating one of those Strigoi. I was not prepared! It was sheer luck I wasn't killed. You need to think about the mindset of these children! I was plagued by nightmares and anxiety for weeks, and even then, I still wasn't ready. They are children for god sake! How would you feel if it were Moroi being forced out at sixteen to their deaths?" I say firmly, commanding the attention of the Moroi in the room, and I can see the Guardian's lining the room making small nods of agreeance.
"Eighty percent of recent graduates don't live past their first year in service. We are not prepared for what is actually out there until we are in the field. You complain that numbers are low, and yet you do nothing but hide behind your Guardians instead of helping. During the ambush at St. Vladimir's, a Moroi student used his fire magic and aided a novice. Together, they took out over 25 Strigoi. Take that into consideration," I continue, looking directly at Nathan and forcing myself not to lose my composure.
Daring a glance at Tatiana, I see a smirk cross her lips and a stubble nod. Good job.
Nathan stands there gaping like a fish, opening and closing his mouth as his face turns redder and redder. Lissa places her hand on top of mine resting on the table and stand up to face the others.
"Rose is right. The whole purpose of having a Dhampir and Guardian as an advisor is to help make decisions for the society as a whole; not just for the Moroi. We cannot lower the age; we need to put more effort into training our novices, so they have a better chance at surviving. Without the Guardians, our race will cease to exist if we do not step up," Lissa says levelly.
I take in a slow breath, trying to calm my galloping heart. Moving my gaze around the table, some of the representatives have thoughtful looks on their faces, really listening to what is being said. I sit back down and cross my ankles, observing the Guardians. I can't turn to look at Dimitri who is directly behind me, but I catch Guardian Andrews eye across the room, and she winks before placing her mask of indifference back in place.
"I agree with the Princess and Guardian Hathaway," Lady Badica says regally, canting her head in our direction. "We need to put more focus on teaching the novices how to survive in the world before we expect them to protect us."
People voice their opinions around the room, but I know that Lissa and I have changed the ideas of the council. Hopefully, there will be enough people to veto the law.
After the tedious meeting was put into recess, I stood with Lissa and Amalia and we left for lunch. I waved for Dimitri to walk with me instead of behind me – I hate when he does that- and we head towards Lissa's townhouse.
"I'm proud of you," Dimitri whispers in my ear, brushing the back of his hand against mine as we walk. I smile and look up at him, feeling proud of myself too. Including Tatiana's vote, we were able to sway the vote to a majority to not pass the law, much to Nathan's distain. I am starting to see what my role is doing and couldn't be happier that I am making a difference.
Plopping down on Lissa's couch, I kick my heels off and feet and get comfy. I really need to start wearing flats more often, my feet are aching, and I've only been wearing them for four hours.
"How are you juggling school and Queenly duties?" I ask Lissa when she sits next to me. Lissa sighs and props her feet up on the coffee table, rubbing her temples. "I don't even want to think about that right now, I have a big enough headache already," she says quietly. I smirk and rub her shoulder as my phone pings. I pick it up and unlock the screen to see a message from Mia.
~Sweetest things ever! ~
Opening the attachment and smile brightly, she sent me a photo of the twins napping on the bed with Adrian. The twins lay side by side on their backs, and Artyom has one arm thrown across Nadia's stomach while Nadia has her thumb jammed in her mouth right to the knuckle.
"I got something that will make you feel better," I say softly, turning the phone towards Lissa. Lissa looks down at my phone and squeals, ripping my phone from my hands.
"I have the cutest niece and nephew!" she squeals shoving the phone in her face. I snicker as I watch Liss and Amalia gush over the twins and I look at Dimitri sitting on the opposite couch with a smile. I can see small bags under his eyes from sleeplessness – no doubt the twins getting up at random hours of the night are a huge contribution. I move over to where he is and snuggle into him. He will probably complain later that we were being unprofessional, but we are in Lissa's house with her Guardians, Amalia's Guardian, and him. We will be fine.
"You have to let me have them over for a night!" Lissa says handing me back my phone. I can already see the wheels turning in her mind, pulling together ideas for a sleep over and all the things she will buy to spoil them – even though she has already gone overboard with that.
"I think we can arrange that," I say with a smile and run my hands through my hair. It would be nice for Dimitri and I have a night alone, to just relax and enjoy each other's company. We may live together and see each other every day, we don't have much time for just us lately. I would be less anxious about Lissa and Christian having the twins for a night than having to leave them for work.
Eating a quick lunch and heading back to the palace, I fall back into step with Dimitri and loop my arm around his, resting my head against him as we walk.
"I meant to tell you this morning that you look lovely," Dimitri says quietly. I smirk and look at him with a raised brow, "Really?"
He nods unwinding his arm from mine as we step into the back of the elevator to head to the next meeting, and he slides his hand to my lower back, caressing me softly. The action sends a shiver through my body and I suppress a moan that makes its way up my throat. "The heels are a nice touch too. They make your ass look fantastic," he whispers huskily in my ear before moving his hand down and cupping my ass, squeezing firmly before moving his hand up to my back. Tilting my head down as a deep blush runs over my cheeks, I grind my teeth against my lip and smirk. Composing myself as the elevator reaches our floor, I step out with Lissa and head to the next meeting, thankful that it is only with Tatiana.
Double checking that all of the twins' things are in the bag, I zip up the diaper bags and set them down by the door, waiting for Lissa and Christian to pick them up. Dimitri and I didn't get a chance to celebrate our anniversary last month, so after a few days of consideration, I told Lissa she could have the twins over for the night while Dimitri and I go for dinner.
Heading into the living room and I lay down on my stomach in front of my babies on the play matt. Artyom looks around with his big eyes and once they land on me and he smiles, kicking his legs out with a gurgle. Nadia is trying to pull herself across the mat on her belly, pushing up on her chubby little arms. How did I get so lucky to have two beautiful children?
"You're going to be good for Aunt Lissa and Uncle Pyro right?" I ask the two of them, smirking at the faces they make when I talk. Sometimes they look so enraptured on what Dimitri and I say, but most of the time they look at us as if they were to say, 'what's wrong with you lady?'
Looking up to see Dimitri leaning against the wall watching us, I flash a smile and pull up onto my knees. I take a moment to admire him, dressed in slack and a slate grey button-up shirt with his hair loose. He looks Godly. A knock on the door jolts my attention from him and I move to stand up and answer it, but he has already moved to the door, allowing Lissa and Christian to come in. Christian is the last person I expected to like children, but he turns into a whole different person when he is around the twins, which makes Lissa swoon about the thought of her own children with crystal blue eyes.
"We will have them back tomorrow around 10, is that ok with you?" Lissa says scooping Artyom up and planting a kiss on his cheek. I nod and kiss my babies goodbye, making Lissa promise to call if anything happens. Dimitri laughs at me before saying goodbye to the twins, rubbing his fingers over their chunky cheeks.
Shutting the door behind them, I lean against it looking at Dimitri. "Are we even ready to have a childless night? What are we going to do with a quiet house?" I chuckle. Dimitri steps closer to me, placing his hands on either side of my face, caging me in.
He leans down and kisses the side of my neck, "I can think of a few things." I giggle and pull him closer to me, pulling his lips to mine and kissing him deeply. The kiss heats up quickly, our hands start to wander hungrily over each other's bodies, and I tear my lips from his to breathe.
He moves his hands to hips, pulling me against him as he moves his lips to my neck, and I can feel the hard bulge in his pants forming. "I have to get dressed if we are going to make it to dinner," I say breathlessly, putting my hands on his chest. He sucks lightly on my shoulder before letting go, moving back to look down at me, his eyes two pools of lust. I can almost guarantee that mine are as dark and dilated too.
"Hurry," he whispers, placing a kiss on my lips as I worm my way out of his arms and sprint down the hall, flying through my clothes and dressing. Tossing on a pair of heeled booties, I fly back out of the bedroom while twisting my hair up into a French Twist and clipping it, I smooth my dress and collect my purse. I smile triumphantly as I watch his eyes roam over the mauve cocktail dress with hunger, I step closer and kiss his cheek softly.
"Come on, you have to satisfy your woman's appetite. All of them," I say, pulling him towards the door with a wink. He growls playfully at me, swatting my behind before locking the door behind us.
Dinner so far has been lovely and I am enjoying having some one on one time with Dimitri. We choose to go to one of the mixed restaurants in Court, not quite fine dining but still nice, nonetheless. "What do you think of Navy Blue and Burgundy?" I ask Dimitri while we eat our entrees. We have slowly been making plans for our wedding, and with Lissa being my Maid of Honour, she has been pestering me for wedding colours.
Dimitri swallows his last bite of food and set his fork on the plate, looking thoughtful. "I like it. Are thinking for more wedding party colours?"
"Yea, I thought maybe you and the groom's party wear Navy Blue suits and the Bridal party wear Burgundy with Navy blue shoes?" I reply as I wipe my mouth with a napkin. So far we have decided that we are going to get married in the church at St. Vlad's; mostly because Lissa will be Queen by then and it is a secure enough location that she can be there. We plan to baptise the twins the same weekend during the Sunday service.
The hair on the back of my neck stands up and I shiver, looking around the room to see Guardian Moore sitting a few tables away with us directly in his line of sight. He adverts his eyes when he sees me looking, speaking adamantly into his phone before hanging up the call he was on, and looks down at the menu in front of him.
"Rose?"
I snap my head back to Dimitri, "Huh?"
Dimitri smirks and points to the small menu that has been placed on the table. "I asked you if you wanted dessert." I nod excitedly, looking over the menu with laser focus.
"Do you want to share the cheesecake with me?" I ask, looking up at him with a smile. He cocks a brow at me. "You are willing to share?"
I wink and uncross my legs under the table, running my foot along his calf. "Can't have all my dessert now, can I?" I whisper seductively while biting the corner of my lip. Dimitri clears his throat as the tips of his ears turn pink, nodding his head in agreeance – about the cheesecake and my proposal – before ordering our dessert.
Resting my elbows on the table and resting my chin on my folded hands, I take a moment to daydream about our big day in October. I know for sure that Dimitri's family are all coming to the wedding, and with Mom retiring and moving in with Abe that they will be coming too. Our guest list is short, to begin with, wanting our day to be simple and enjoyable with our close friends and family. Letting my eyes wander around the room again, I catch Moore staring at us again. "Was Moore part of Abe's Guardian detail, or Tatiana's?" I ask Dimitri abruptly, canting my head over in Moore's direction.
Dimitri looks over subtly before looking back at me. "I think Tatiana's, but he isn't assigned to you anymore." I frown and shake my head. Maybe it is just coincidence that Moore is here and sitting in view line with us.
Our waiter brings our cheesecake and two forks, and I thank him before digging in. Being sure to not eat all of it, I savour the rich blueberry sauce that tops the creamy dessert. "That was tasty," I comment as the plate is taken away and the bill is brought to us. Beating Dimitri to the bill, I pull out a few bills and set them inside the folder before standing up. Dimitri smiles and leans down to kiss me and then leading me out of the restaurant.
"Do you remember Damir?" Dimitri asks and I think for a moment before nodding. "From Russia? Yes," I reply and Dimitri smiles slightly. "I think I am going to ask him to be in our wedding party. He could come when my family comes, and aside from Ivan, he is one of the only friends I have from school."
I smile and slip my hand into his, squeezing it tightly. We walk hand in hand back to the house leisurely, enjoying the warm sun beating down on our skin. Arriving back at the house I pull Dimitri closer to me, pulling him down so I can kiss him. "I love you," I whisper against his lips and he wraps his arms around my waist.
"I love you too."
Letting go of me after kissing my lips again, he turns to unlock the door but freezes, pushing me behind him.
"What is it?" I ask, trying to peek around his shoulder. Dimitri nudges the door open with his foot and I can see that the handle is busted. He pulls his gun out from his duster whispering "Stay here."
I nod and step back from the door as he moves into the house, and I pull my gun out as well. I have never had to shoot my gun, but with the sun being high in the sky and we had left after sunrise, the only people who could be in our house are Dhampir or Moroi.
Three pain-staking minutes later, Dimitri calls out to me and I put my gun away and walk in. A part of me wishes I didn't. The living room is trashed, couch cushions were torn, tables overturned, glass shattered on the floor, our T.V. laying in pieces. I wander through the living room to the hall, careful not to touch anything and come to a staggering stop when I find Dimitri in the nursery. Nothing is out of place, but the red paint written on the wall was sinister enough.
If we can't hurt you, we will hurt them.
I take in a shaky breath and stumble from the room into our bedroom. The room has been torn apart, but the only objects that are destroyed are mine, none of Dimitri's clothes or books are out of place. I pull my phone out of my purse and dial Lissa's phone.
"Come on. Pick up, pick up, pick up," I whisper to myself. The phone rings out and I groan, dialling Christian's number instead. Listening to the dial tone I walk from our bedroom back to the nursery, biting my nails and look at Dimitri who has turned to face me.
"You do know what time it is, right?" Christian grumbles into the phone and I breathe a small sigh. "Where are the twins?" I ask panicky. I can hear Christian breathing over the phone as he walks into their guest room.
"They're in the playpen sleeping. What's wrong?" Christian asks sleepily, and I let an even bigger sigh of relief out. "Someone broke into our house and trashed the place. They left a threat for the twins in the nursery," I explain, walking into Dimitri's open arm and resting my head against his chest, staring at the red trails on the cribs.
Christian swears quietly over the phone before walking back into their room and waking Lissa. "Do you want us to bring them to you?" he asks and I can hear Lissa asking questions in the background. Looking up at Dimitri, who has a hard look on his face, I swallow roughly. "Yes please."
Ending the call a few minutes later Dimitri pulls his phone out and calls Guardian Headquarters before calling Tatiana's office. I can hear the anger in his voice while he speaks, and I force myself to stay calm – well as calm as I can be at this moment.
The Guardians from HQ arrive quickly and start to investigate, ushering us from the nursery into the kitchen which is virtually untouched. Giving a statement to Croft, I sit and twist my fingers while I count down the minutes that Christian and Lissa get here. Not even a minute has passed since that thought crossed my mind before the two of them walk into the kitchen, holding our sleeping children. I'm out of my seat before Dimitri has a chance to look up to see who walked in, and I have both my babies in my arms, holding them against my chest and letting out a deep breath. Sensing that he is in my arms Artyom snuffles his face around and lays his face in the crook of my neck, his little nose rubbing against my skin.
Dimitri comes over and wraps the three of us in his arm, carefully not to crush the babies, but close enough and his chest brushes against my hands and their backs.
I peak out to see Lissa talking to Croft in a hushed voice, gesturing her arms out. I'm shocked to see that she is still in her pyjamas; fluffy slippers and all. "Maybe you two should sit down?" Christian says and I lift my head up and nod. Dimitri lets go and moves us back to the island, and Christian lays one of the fluffier baby blankets down on the granite. I smile at him, but I'm not ready to put them down. I can feel Dimitri's rising agitation, so I nudge him with my arm, gesturing with my head for him to take Nadia.
He lifts her gently from my arms and holds her to his chest, stroking the back of her curly head and kissing softly, anchoring himself to the tiny human in his arms to calm himself down.
"How bad is the nursery?" Christian asks, sliding a steaming cup in front of Dimitri and me I. I shrug and shake my head, not wanting to think about the mess. "It's not bad. The blood is the issue in there, it's across the wall over the cribs," Dimitri says quietly, looking down at Nadia as she shuffles around and he moves her into a cradle position, tucking her close to his body.
I look down into the mug in front of me to see hot chocolate, and lift the mug to my lips carefully, sipping deeply. Lissa comes over to us with Croft and comes around to wrap her arms around me, stroking my hair back from my face. "You two are more than welcome to come and stay with us," Lissa says softly, kissing my head and I nod with a sigh.
"Did either of you touch anything?" Croft asks, leaning against the counter. Dimitri and I both shake our heads and Croft nods. "We need to go through the house and collect evidence, during such time you two cannot reside here. You can pack some belongings, but we need you both out of the house within the hour," Croft explains kindly, speaking at a quiet level. I stand up and hand Artyom to Christian and head towards the bedroom, pulling out two duffel bags and starting to put our clothes into the bags.
Taking a moment to breath I brace myself against the bed and dip my head down, sucking in a deep breath before letting out a silent sob, gasping for air. It's one thing to come into my home and destroy things, it is something different to threat my innocent children.
I don't need an investigation to know that Tasha is behind this, it was clear enough when Dimitri's things were untouched. Sinking down to the floor at the foot of the bed, I press my fist against my mouth to stifle the growing sobs from escaping as a pair of slender arms wrap around me.
Looking up to see Lissa's bright eyes looking down at me, I let the sob escape my lips, clutching to her and letting it all out. She doesn't say anything but rocks me gently and holding onto me, rubbing my arms and resting her head against mine.
"I hate her," I choke between my tears. Lissa sighs and hugs me tighter and stroking my hair. "I know," she says quietly. I take slow, deep breaths and wipe my tears before standing up and continuing to pack the bags. Lissa stands and starts opening my dresser to pull out underwear and other clothing to put in the bag. "Can you grab my bag from the bathroom?" I ask Lissa while I put the last of Dimitri's stuff in the one bag and zip it closed.
I walk over to grab my phone charger from beside the bed and unplug it, but my shaking fingers drop it and it bounces under the bed. I huff and get down on my knees to pull it out, but something else catches my eye. I pull the charger out and grab the card laying next to it and sit up. Flipping the card over I feel the blood in my veins run cold.
"I grabbed Dimitri's toothbrush as well, and I put your birth control in your bag – what is that?" Lissa says walking back into the bedroom, setting the things in my bag. I stare down at the I.D. card in my hands, replaying every time he was in our house in Goderich and how often I've seen him around Court. I bolt up from the floor and run to the kitchen, sliding across the floor catching myself on the island.
"I found this under our bed!" I gasp, shoving the card into Croft's hands. Dimitri looks at me with a confused expression.
Croft looks it over, "You said you found this under your bed?"
I nod, "Yes, it was under my side of the bed."
"Rose?" Dimitri asks, standing from where he was buckling in Nadia in her car seat. I shake my head and place my hand on his arm when he comes closer to me. Dimitri looks between me and Croft.
"I want an APB put out for Ethan Moore immediately, he is now a suspect in this investigation."
I know that in some places 4 months' maternity leave is a lot, but where I'm from, it's a really short amount of time. Shit is going to hit the fan in the next few chapters, so hold onto your seats!