Eddie's POV
Mikhail pulled over two miles from Court so we could let Rose out of the trunk. I hopped out and opened the trunk door. Rose jumped out at me, knocking me over. "What the hell?" I shouted, Rose didn't miss a beat and kicked me in the stomach. I reached for her shoulder but she took my arm and twisted it. Mikhail was beside me now.
"Rose, it's us!" Rose gave a cry as she lunged for Mikhail. He fell over, Rose was immediately on top of him. She reached for his stake.
I instinctively pushed Rose off of Mikhail, she scrambled back up and started fighting again. Neither Mikhail or I could get through to her, her eyes held no recognition for us. Rose looked between the two men before her... and darted the other way. Mikhail tried to chase her but she was too fast for him. "Rose! ROSE!" She stumbled over a rock, regaining her balance quickly.
Not quick enough. Mikhail tackled her to the ground. I ran over to them and helped Mikhail drag Rose back to the car. She stopped resisting when we got close to the car and I loosened my grip.
Big mistake. Rose liked to let people underestimate her, get comfortable in a fight before she went for the kill. Rose broke free from my grip.
Rose managed to slam my head on the car, my vision became blurry. Mikhail took the blunt end of his stake and hit Rose over the head, she toppled to the ground. Mikhail was breathing heavy. "Panic attack?" he suggested with a shrug.
We picked up Rose and laid her down in the backseat. "Should we buckle her up?" I asked. Mikhail snorted and got back in the driver's seat, "C'mon. We have to meet the alchemist at the hotel by two o'clock. We'll have just enough time to stop and eat at McDonald's on the way." I sighed and closed the door on Rose. Weird shit has been happening lately.
The sun was just beginning to rise over the mountains. Mikhail turned the radio to a classic rock station and suggested that I get some sleep so that I could drive later. I leaned over my seat to look at Rose's unconscious body. Instead of resting like I should have I pondered the reasons why Rose would attack us and try to get away from us. I thought she knew she could trust me with this mission.
Three hours later Rose woke up and started thrashing wildly. Mikhail had to pull over the car or she'd cause him to crash. Rose tried to get out of the car but Mikhail locked the doors and put the child lock on. Rose then resorted to kicking at us, luckily she missed since we had the seats to duck behind. "Do we wait it out? She'll get tired soon." I asked.
Rose roared, "Fight me! Fight me or kill me already!" Mikhail looked at me with shock, "I don't think we can wait this out." He reached for his stake again. I shook my head, "Don't. You'll hurt her." I did my best to crawl in the backseat with Rose giving me all of her might. I pushed through her punches and kicks, which were awkward in the enclosed space.
She couldn't do much harm here. I positioned myself so that I could reach Rose's throat. She swatted at my arms but fear overtook her when she saw where my goal was. She stopped thrashing out.
My hands froze right before touching her neck. "Are you going to fight me?" I asked. Rose gulped, she shook her head. She looked so afraid of me, I couldn't get my mind wrapped around it. I dropped my hands, "Okay. Goo- ooph!" Once my hands weren't near her throat she kneed me in the place that really counts.
I keeled over onto Rose, who tried to wriggle her way out from under me. Mikhail shouted from the front seat, "Just subdue her already!" My hands reached up to Rose's neck, this time I didn't pause when she came to a standstill. I wrapped my hands around her neck and kept her in a chokehold until she closed her eyes and her shoulders slumped.
I crawled back to my seat, "Maybe we should turn around." Mikhail shot me a dark look, "Rose will be fine. We're doing this." I looked sideways at him, suddenly wary of this mission. Rose isn't right, and I couldn't just ignore that.
Rose didn't wake up before we got to the hotel. This proved to be a different kind of problem, "How are we going to get her inside?" I asked. We couldn't just carry her limp body through the lobby. Mikhail threw his head back in exasperation, "I don't know! Just carry her bridal style, the humans will think she passed out from the long drive."
That's exactly what we did. As it turns out, it's not that hard to carry a limp body around humans, I even got some looks of awe from the women. Mikhail checked us in and led us to the large suite. The room Mr Mazur rented for us had three bedrooms and a main living room, all connected. Sydney Sage, the alchemist, was already in the suite.
She fit Rose's description perfectly: average height, dark blonde hair, stiff. Her eyes widened when she saw Rose, "What happened? Were you attacked?" Her voice held concern for Rose, I didn't realize the two cared for each other. I put Rose down on the couch. "Something like that." Mikhail mumbled.
Sydney pressed her lips together. She glanced over us, "You must be Edison Castile," she held out her hand. I shook her hand, though I felt uneasy about her knowing my full name. Rose once told me the alchemists know more than they let on. She turned to Mikhail, "And you're Mikhail Tanner." I noticed how she didn't say Pleased to meet you or anything along those lines. "Well if I'm Mikhail and he's Edison that must make you Victor, Robert or Sydney." Mikhail's voice reeked of bitterness.
He took his bags and went into one of the bedrooms, closing the door forcefully behind him. "I apologize for Mikhail, this mission is somewhat personal for him and it hasn't been pleasant so far." Sydney didn't look offended but I felt the need to make amends anyway.
"What happened to Rose? Mr Mazur told me I would only need to speak with her, not the rest of you." Sydney's tone stayed polite despite the message she was sending. Rose had told me about Sydney's disdain for the 'unnatural creatures of the night'.
"She, uh-" The suite's electronic door beeped and the red light flashed green. In walked the Dashkov brothers. The two looked like they were on vacation. They wore capri shorts and golf shirts while lugging in their suitcases.
"Ah, it seems young Rosemarie is still adjusting to the daylight schedule," Victor eyed Sydney, "Mazur sent an alchemist? He has his hands in more places than I thought." Robert couldn't keep his eyes off Rose, I stepped in his line of vision to stop his creepy glare.
Victor saw this, "Not to worry young Edison, my brother will not harm Rose."
I clenched my jaw but didn't move, "Good to know."
Rose stirred, she started mumbling what I thought was Dimitri's name, but it was morphed. She blinked a couple times before sitting up. "Mikhail! She's up," I shouted and prepared for another attack.
Rose looked around the room, her eyes widening with fear and anger, she kicked into battle mode and leapt off the couch and onto the coffee table. Sydney immediately took a few steps back, holding up her hands. Rose took me as the most immediate threat, she jumped off the table and charged me. I was ready for her attack, but Rose had always beat me in training sessions. Fighting her alone was almost pointless. She saw my hands reach to restrain her wrists and responded with a quick kick to my gut.
Mikhail came storming out of the bedroom, his stake at the ready. "Rose! We are not going to hurt you! Jesus, look at us!" Rose did look at him, she had the same glint in her eyes that she did when she was fighting Strigoi. She bared her teeth, "Why are you keeping me here? Let me go or just kill me!" Rose charged Mikhail, Mikhail used his larger body to fall into her and knock her backwards.
Sydney was yelling now, demanding to know what was going on and begging Mikhail for God's sake to please put the stake away. Robert spoke for the first time, "Restrain her, let me calm her down."
Mikhail and I exchanged a glance, it was the only thing we haven't tried: compulsion. Mikhail and I ran forward at the same time. The room was big but not big enough for Rose to escape us and we had her cornered. Mikhail reached down and took Rose's ankles out from under her. Once she was on the floor I used my knees to pin her arms down. She squirmed but couldn't get free.
Robert walked over to Rose with purpose. He knelt down to look her in the eye, "Rosemarie, look at me." His voice was calm and almost seductive in a way. Rose knew the game, she sealed her eyes shut so hard that her whole face wrinkled. Robert's gaze was unwavering, "Rosemarie, I said look at me." The power in his voice made Rose crack, she made eye contact.
Her whole body seemed to sag under his gaze, she was like a doll now. "Why are you fighting your friends?" he asked slowly as if speaking to a child. Rose shook her head just as slowly, it was like the two were suspended in jello. "They're not my friends. Enemies. Enemies. They said so."
My head snapped up to Mikhail, he looked confused but I knew exactly what was happening now. I had seen too many mind games played. Rose was under compulsion to fight us. Robert didn't lose his focus, "Who said that?" Rose tried to move one of her arms, "Randall and Vladimir."
"I heard you were kidnapped, did they kidnap you?"
"No, I was delivered to them by someone else. Randal and Vladimir just kept me with them until I was taken by their humans and left at the court gates."
"And they told you to attack your friends?"
"My enemies. They said they are my enemies! Randal and Vladimir are my friends, they want to give me power and strength. But I have to destroy my enemies first."
Something in Robert changed and he gripped Rose's face, "Careful," I hissed. He ignored me, "The Strigoi are not your friends. They are life takers. The dhampir and Moroi are your friends, you know that deep down. Think real hard, Rosemarie, you can break through this compulsion that they put on you." He stared intently into Rose's eyes and after a few moments Rose started hyperventilating.
Then the screams started. She looked terrified but she kept her gaze on Robert. "What are you doing?" I screamed, Mikhail let Rose's ankles go and simply stared in fear. Robert stayed calm, though there was a slightly disturbed look on his face, "Rosemarie you need to stay quiet, others will hear you." Rose's chest started convulsing and she was racked with sobs.
"Get away from her!" I roared, Robert flinched.
Robert started saying things to calm Rose down, but the compulsion couldn't get her rapid breaths to slow down. Robert gave up trying, "Go to sleep," he commanded.
Rose's eyes closed and her head slumped to the side. Victor grabbed one of Robert's shoulders and led him to the couch, Mikhail scooped Rose up and carried her into the bedroom. He only came back into the living room to go to his own room and close the door. Sydney was pressed up against a wall, her eye darting between me and the brothers. Her phone rang.
Sydney was on the phone, "Mr Mazur, hello. She's asleep right now, but perfectly fine. I know, Mr Mazur, I'll have her call you as soon as she wakes up. I promise that she's perfectly fine, she's just really tired. She probably forgot to call you." She tapped the end call button forcefully and sat down on the couch. "I hate lying to him. This is just great. We were supposed to be at the house of the account holder within the hour. This was all supposed to be so simple."
I wanted to comfort her but I don't think she would appreciate being touched by an evil creature of the night. The room was quiet for a long while. Rose must have woken up because I heard sobbing. Sydney picked her head up to look at me, "I heard that Rose went AWOL for a couple weeks. She was really kidnapped?" I nodded.
Victor joined the conversation, "She chose an interesting time to regain her memories."
"What was that earlier? Robert made Rose pretty damn scared." I growled, Victor wasn't fazed. He chuckled, "Robert helped Rosemarie uncover her lost memories, determine truth from the lies she was fed. Compulsion got rid of her memories and compulsion got them back. We heard all about Rosemarie's disappearance: the note left for the queen, the letter left by Rosemarie and her condition upon return. We aren't as secluded as people think."
Sydney seemed to dislike Victor more than she disliked me, she must be a person of taste. Neither of us responded to Victor but that didn't stop him from talking more, "And now she's run away to find Vasilisa's illegitimate sibling. Interesting." He brought the cup to his lips to hide a smile.
"Speaking of illegitimate siblings, thank you, Robert, for helping me. That was kind of you." Rose stood in the doorway of her bedroom. Her hair was disheveled. She had large puffy circles under her eyes. I wondered what kind of nightmares she had to remember.
"Rosemarie Hathaway, thanking someone for compelling her? I never thought I'd see the day," Victor smirked. I thought his joke was extremely rude. I clenched my fist.
Rose lifted her chin, "I'm Princess Rosemarie Mazur Hathaway now, but you may address me as Princess Hathaway." I couldn't help the small smile on my face at seeing Rose stand up to one of her biggest enemies, and with class.
Victor simply nodded his head, "Princess Hathaway it is then. Forgive me if I do not bow, my knees aren't what they used to be." Rose spared him a sharp look before directing her attention to Sydney. Her face softened, "Hey there. How's my favorite alchemist?"
Sydney seemed to relax a little with Rose in the room, "You have to call Abe." Rose's smile grew but I couldn't see why. Sydney wasn't very warm or affectionate to Rose. Maybe Rose took Sydney's willingness to even talk to her as affection. "I'll get right on that. Eddie?" She looked at me hopefully, "Yes, Princess?"
Rose narrowed her eyes, she didn't like it when her friends addressed her by her official title. I guess it was only okay to use it as a power dominance thing with people you didn't like. Victor, for example. "I'm sorry, for earlier."
Victor piped in, "You were compelled. From the looks of it your memories and orders from Vladimir and Randall were triggered by crossing the ward's boundaries." Rose flinched at the name "Randall" but kept her face devoid of emotion. "Do you always have to talk?" she snapped.
"It's okay Rose. I don't blame you," I said honestly. Rose gave me a small smile of relief before retreating to her bedroom. Sydney followed her.
The house was blue, it sat near a small lake in a town called Paris. The house looked pretty for being owned by a Strigoi. The sun was going to set in nearly an hour, if we didn't move now we would have to wait until tomorrow for the advantage we have with sunlight. I still hadn't gotten any sleep since the previous night, but I didn't feel any fatigue yet. All six of us were crammed into the SUV with Sydney sitting in the trunk like Rose had earlier.
Rose turned around to face me and the brothers, her business face masked the fatigue and general grief of her returned memories. "Here's how it's going to go down, Mikhail and I will walk the perimeter of the house and look for the easiest entrance. We'll come back for you, Eddie. The three of us will go inside and pin Sonya on the floor. I've done this before in Russia with a group of dhampirs less skilled than any of us, so it shouldn't be a problem. Once Sonya is down, Robert you'll have to stake her. Did you charm the stake I gave you?"
Robert nodded. Rose nodded in return. I looked at Mikhail, curious to how he was handling this. He looked scared and excited at the same time, hopefully he could fight Sonya without hesitating. This was the moment Mikhail had been waiting for.
Rose unbuckled her seat belt, "All right, let's go."