Dimitri's POV
Most guardians at court could leave their charges for extended periods and have some free time since the royal court was so well protected. There wasn't fear of the Moroi attacking each other. I wouldn't have that luxury. The queen put Rose in danger by giving her a council seat. I don't imagine Rose will have to fear the dhampirs, who will more than likely support her. I will have to protect her from the Moroi who don't want the dhampirs to have a say in their own matters, arrogant Moroi like Rufus Tarus.
The queen glossed over some details about the ceremony and palace housing, "Most guards live separately from their charges here, but with your controversial position Dimitri will have to share a suite with you. Don't worry, two bedrooms will be provided."
Rose left as soon as she was dismissed with watery eyes, but her head remained high. Her all too thin frame looked unnatural. Wherever she'd been, she obviously hadn't eaten much.
I could tell she was doing what she thought Lissa would do, putting on her best face and keeping her thoughts to herself. It was so unlike Rose, who always told people what she thought, no matter how much it hurt to hear. I was confident Rose could fit into her new role as princess, she would have the support of her friends and family, and me.
The queen stood, I followed. Should I go after Rose? The queen sighed, "I hope you know how serious this is, Guardian Belikov. Rosemarie is extremely young, and she wasn't raised for politics. She will be under speculation by everyone at court, even some dhampirs will be upset that I chose her and not an older, more experienced guardian for the role, perhaps even her mother." I hadn't thought of that.
"I will do everything in my power to protect her," I bowed my head, knowing how true that was. The queen gave a knowing smile, "I know. I do believe your personal feelings will aid your cause in this case." I simply nodded, but my head was reeling. Adrian must have told his aunt all about Rose's past love interests. I was starting to resent the queen for putting Rose in danger, but I couldn't deny that this would benefit the dhampirs. There was too much to think about right now... I needed some hot chocolate.
I made my way to Rose's room in guardian housing. There were loud voices behind her door, it sounded like a fight. I knocked on the door, hoping I wouldn't have to break it down. Moments later Rose opened the door, she stepped aside to let me in.
Eddie was sitting on the couch on the far wall, his face in his hands. Lissa was still in Rose's pajamas, pacing the room, "This is bullshit! She's making you princess? She might as well be signing your death certificate. No doubt Rufus and his followers will try to kill you." I had never seen Lissa behave this way, she was acting like Rose.
Surprisingly, Rose remained calm, her face was wiped clean of all emotion, "Well, she gave me a guardian. I'm Dimitri's charge now," three pairs of eyes fell on me. I didn't like having the attention on me, I wish someone would say something. Rose shook her head, "Liss, she's doing us a favor if you think about it. I have my mother and father - I make the quorum requirements. Think about it, she's giving you back your council seat through me."
Father… I vaguely remember Lissa telling me that Zmey is Rose's biological father, who suddenly took an interest in being present in Rose's life. That thought both comforted me and scared me. Zmey was a name to be feared, hopefully he would use his resources to help protect Rose.
Lissa's eyes widened, "Do you really think that? And what happens when I have kids and make the quorum requirements?" She was turning her shock and anger on Rose, but Rose knew how to handle Lissa's emotions. She shrugged, "I keep my council seat, or go back to guarding. I don't know. The queen has turned me into some symbol so that she can challenge the Strigoi. I'm just a pawn here."
She sighed, "I don't want to be princess, but Queen Tatiana was right, it's necessary to keep the Strigoi from overpowering us. If there's one thing I've learned from you it's that when you have a chance to protect your people, you take it. No matter how much it hurts, no matter what you really want."
By the end of her little speech her voice had doubled in volume she was getting red in the face. At that moment I was in awe of Rose's resilience, she wasn't going to go down easily. She would make an amazing princess. Lissa could do nothing but stare in wonder, "I just can't believe this is happening. You're royalty, Rose."
Rose narrowed her eyes, "And I'm also your guardian. Even though they stripped me of that title, don't think for a second that it changes anything. You're still my first priority."
Lissa smiled and moved to hug Rose, "And you're my priority. You're going to need a guardian princess to show you the political ropes. God knows what kind of trouble you'd cause without me." The girls dissolved into laughter, but I could still sense the unease and anxiety in Rose.
Eddie stood up, I had almost forgotten he was there. "I think I should be going," he mumbled, his face cast to the floor. Rose pulled away from Lissa and moved to grab Eddie's elbow, "Wait! You said we would talk more…'' The last part was a whisper, fear mixed with hope creeped into her voice. Eddie looked like he had aged 50 years just from hearing that sentence. "Rose, I think you know what I would say," he kissed Rose's forehead and left the room.
I had no idea what that was about, but whatever it was it made Rose upset. Her whole body was quivering and I had to physically stop myself from rushing to her side. Lissa was waving her hands in front of Rose's face but Rose just stared off into space and shook. After a few moments she started blinking rapidly, "He's dead. Isn't he? Oh God, Mason is dead." Rose broke down and started sobbing, this time I did go to her.
Lissa and I gaped at each other, speechless. Mason… his death nearly destroyed Rose. I couldn't bear to see her go down that road again.
I remember Spokane like it happened yesterday - I remember finding my heart there after she had gone missing, but I found her broken. I can still see her on that floor, holding Mason's limp body. I had nightmares for weeks from seeing Rose so broken and hopeless. There was so much blood in that room, and I thought it was hers at first. After all, she was covered in it… How could Rose forget that? Lissa was kneeling next to Rose so I knelt on her other side, I reached out to touch her arm.
I had to say something, to get her to stop hurting so much. I opened my mouth then closed it. What was there to say? She was reliving one of the worst moments in her life right now. Lissa spoke first, "Yes, Mason's gone. You've seen his ghost, you saw him move on." Rose's sobs subsided into hiccups, "I think… I think I remember that. It happened last winter, before the attack, didn't it?" she asked. Yes, of course it did. Rose couldn't forget something like that.
Has Rose finally gone through so much trauma that her mind has been erasing painful memories? I almost wish that were the case. Rose deserves the bliss of ignorance after all that's happened. She let out a deep sigh that made her whole chest move inward, like the air had been pushed out of them. Her fist was pressing to her stomach and her face contorted as she made a high pitched noise. It was painful to hear, painful to see.
I grabbed her shoulders, "Rose, Roza, look at me." I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to say, but like every time before, one look into her eyes told me exactly what I needed to say.
"Mason's at peace, Lissa said so herself. He moved on. You did too. Eddie and all of Mason's friends have moved on. It's all in the past, don't let that haunt you now." Something in Rose changed, she took a deep breath and smiled. I could see how fake the smile was, but I wasn't going to push her. "You're right, I have to worry about midnight," it broke my heart to see her bottling up her emotions like this. Rose looked to Lissa, "I need a dress."
The coronation ceremony was held under the pretense of an open-to-public council meeting in the courtroom. Rose and I were seated in the front row of benches, which got us a lot of questioning looks. Apparently the queen had made arrangements for Janine and Zmey to be there too, and they sat on the other side of Rose. Janine kept fussing over Rose's unhealthy appearance, her father just studied her with narrowed eyes.
Rose and Lissa had chosen a knee length sundress of deep purple. Lissa said it complimented her well and the color screamed royalty. Rose said it didn't look too much like the "royal bullshit" the Moroi wear. Rose's hands were flexing and unflexing in her lap, every now and then she'd wipe them on the lap of her dress. She was doing a good job at keeping her nerves down, but Janine kept asking questions that would make her flinch. "Why did the queen fly us out, Rose? Why are we sitting here? Are you in some kind of trouble? What's with the dress and makeup?"
Rose wouldn't give her mom a direct answer, she just kept saying, "I don't know what's going on," and I think that was partly true. I wish I could tell Janine to shut up.
Everyone else was there, Lissa with Christian, Tasha, Adrian (who still hasn't spoken to Rose), Mikhail - so many familiar faces who cared for Rose. The room was flooded with royals from all families, everyone looking confused by the sudden meeting. The Princes and Princesses were seated at the raised table facing the crowd. There were three empty chairs, one of which didn't match the rest, it had obviously been hastily added, another for the not yet present queen, one for Lissa who wouldn't be allowed to sit there, and one for Rose.
The whole ceremony was a blur. Our queen made a grand entrance, wearing thick gowns and her crown. She gave a moving speech about dhampir strength and the fight against Strigoi. When she called Rose up, I could sense the shock and disbelief in the room. Rose may have been beaten and malnourished, but she was graceful as she knelt in front of the queen. Tatiana was wrong, Rose wasn't fit to be a princess.
She was a goddess.
The queen didn't need to give me an assignment to know that it was my duty to protect Rose. I will always want to protect her. I've regretted the words "Love fades, mine has" ever since they crossed my lips. I still love her, her disappearance nearly killed me. At this moment, seeing her stand with royalty, I only found her even more beautiful than when I first fell in love.
Once the words "Princess Rosemarie Mazur Hathaway" crossed the queen's lips there was a collective gasp of disbelief. Janine blanched, Zmey looked outwardly surprised for once.
There was a long second of pure silence, then the screams started. Moroi and dhampir were shouting, there was a rift between those cheering in encouragement and those screaming in protest. Rose faced the crowd without batting an eye, she kept her head high and I could see the hint of a grimace on her lips.
The guards were as confused as everyone else, but they immediately responded to the danger and Rose's new position by moving closer to her, I joined them. The queen stood by Rose with her hand on the new princess's shoulder. She was saying something to Rose that I couldn't hear. Rose nodded in agreement. She met my eyes and jerked her head to the door.
I moved to her side, Mikhail, Eddie and a girl I believed was named Meredith reached Rose at the same time I did. Together we flanked the princess to get her out of the chaos and to her new secure room in palace housing. Janine shot up from her seat and joined us, followed by Zmey, eventually Tasha and Adrian with Lissa and Christian followed suit. Several others tried to follow the group out but, thankfully, guardians moved to block the exit. The doors barely muffled the noise from inside.
Once we were in the moonlight Rose began to sway and laugh hysterically. Zmey chuckled without much humor. I looked at the pair of them, for the first time seeing a resemblance between the two.
"Rose?" Adrian got behind her and put his hands on her hips which I'll admit made me jealous. Her laughter eventually faded away.
"I haven't eaten today, could we get some food?" I don't know who she was asking since she was looking up at the stars. Before anyone could reply, Rose suddenly collapsed to the ground.