I don't own VA! It's a longer one so I could backtrack a bit for some Dimitri POV!

Thirteen

Chapter 16

DPOV

My heart clenched painfully in my chest as I watched Lissa feed on Rose through the window. I kept my face blank even as a million emotions swirled within me. For almost two years, all I did was picture my Roza in all sorts of gruesome scenarios. Now, she was right in front of me, with nothing more than a field, the walls of a house and about a dozen guardians between us. It was all I could do to follow orders and not charge the house myself right then.

"Belikov," Guardian Tanner caught my attention, stepping back as Rose appeared in the window. My breath caught in my throat as I stepped back into the shadows. She had seen us, I know she had from the way she'd jerked away instantly. "Follow Jackson. We need to cut them off." I nodded once and complied, shoving all of my anger and sadness down deep. We cut through an alleyway on one side of the street. Two guardians each flocked the other three directions the girls could try to run. Mikhail went with the two that would end up in front of them. I saw Rose stumble and almost fall before clasping Lissa's hand and lurching forward. Mikhail stepped directly in their path, hands up in a comforting gesture.

"Stay away from her," Rose growled, dropping into a defensive stance in front of Lissa. "Don't touch her." Her voice was exactly the same; strong and defiant. And beautiful. Snap out of it, Dimitri, I reminded myself, She left you and you're only here as a training exercise.

"My name is Mikhail Tanner," he said as he took a step forward. "I've come to take you back to Saint Vladimir's Academy, Princess." He took another step forward, too close for Rose's comfort. She lunged forward to attack but he swatted her away easily. I couldn't let her hit the sidewalk, knowing how much pain it would cause her. I swept in, catching her around the waist and sending an electric current through me. Her eyes snapped to mine in surprise and I almost got lost in their depths. Then my eyes passed over her neck and I settled her back to her feet, sorrow running through me at the lengths she went to for Lissa. She yanked herself out of my arms, poising to attack again until Lissa took her hand. Rose froze in her tracks.

"It's okay, Rose," she soothed. "It's over." Rose looked skeptical for only a moment, before sagging in defeat and nodding once. I closed in on my friends with the guardians, eyes focused on Rose. Seeing her again dredged up all the pain of her leaving and the bite mark on her neck sent a flare of anger through me. They come first, I thought bitterly. Roza was important too.

~.~.~.~.~.~

Mikhail had me sit next to Lissa on the jet, separating the girls so they couldn't form an escape plan. I felt Lissa's eyes on me and was grateful to have perfected my guardian mask in the last year. I didn't want her to know how much pain I was in at losing Rose and now seeing her again.

"Dimitri?" Lissa whispered. I turned to face her, feeling my mask slip only slightly. I covered it quickly, hardening my gaze and clenching my teeth. The look of utter desperation on Lissa's face made me soften slightly. Only slightly.

"Yes, Princess?" I acknowledged her formally, treating this situation as much of a training exercise as the rescue itself.

"None of this is Rose's fault," she whispered. "She missed you so much while we were gone. She was only protecting me." I felt my mask slip back on as a frown took over my face.

"She still left me, Lissa," my tone was harsh, taking her by surprise.

"Why'd they let you come?" she asked cautiously. I turned to face forward again, trying to relax as much as I could.

"Mikhail started mentoring me six months ago," I began. "Everyone thought it would be a good training opportunity for me. Plus, they thought you two would be more receptive to coming back if there was a familiar face involved." She nodded in understanding, dropping the conversation. Mikhail appeared next to me suddenly.

"You two were close, yes?" he asked, gesturing towards where Rose was sitting. My jaw clenched painfully and I nodded once, looking at him from the corner of my eye. He sighed, rubbing his temple.

"You think you can make her see reason?" he asked, gruffly and looking irritated.

"I'll try," I answered, knowing that the only reason Rose ever saw was her own. I steeled myself before walking up the aisle and taking the seat next to her.

"Rose," I greeted, keeping my voice neutral. She turned towards me and my breath caught. She was beautiful. So beautiful, it hurt. She stared at me for a moment, mouth slightly open. I wanted nothing more than to kiss her senseless right there. She left, I chanted in my head, trying to remind myself to be angry.

"Comrade," she breathed, finally. My heart nearly stopped at the nickname. I racked my brain for the right thing to say, finally settling on asking her the thing I'd been concerned about since we'd located them.

"Are you going to run again when we get back?" I asked, softly.

"I…I don't know," she whispered back. "If Lissa still isn't safe-" I didn't have to remind myself to be angry anymore.

"She hasn't been safe for the past two years," I snapped, cutting her off and making her jump. "The academy is heavily guarded and ringed in wards. You made her, and yourself, Strigoi fodder."

"I kept her alive," she bit back, her own anger matching mine. "You wouldn't understand."

"You're right," I answered, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. "I will never understand why you thought leaving was a good idea." I stood abruptly and stormed back down the aisle, asking Mikhail if I could go sit by myself on the way. He agreed, staying seated next to the Princess. We landed about half an hour later around six PM human time. Breakfast time for those on a vampiric schedule. We marched straight through the cafeteria, every pair of eyes swiveling towards us. I kept my mask on the whole way to Kirova's office. I watched as Rose and Lissa clung to each other's hands for dear life as a surge of jealously hit me. She'd always care more about Lissa than me. It shouldn't bother me. It was our duty to put Moroi first but it still sent daggers through my heart. The chatter that followed our departure from the cafeteria was deafening. We entered Kirova's office and I stood against the wall with Mikhail, hands clasped in front of me as I tried to see without seeing. I tuned out as much of the conversation as I could, as my emotions warred within me.

"Anyway," Kirova said, recapturing my attention. "You will obviously pick back up with your classes immediately, Princess. But as for you," she turned her hard eyes on Rose, "You will be sent…away." My throat went dry.

"Away?" she repeated, fear evident in her voice. "Where to? My mother? Did she even know I was gone? Or maybe you'll send me off to a blood whore community? Try that, and we'll be gone by morning." I saw anger flare in her, even with her back to me and stepped forward before I could stop myself. I placed my hand on Rose's shoulder to keep her seated and she nearly melted back into the chair.

"If I may, Headmistress," I began. "Rose Hathaway was one of the best novices this school, or any other really, has ever seen. It would be a shame to waste such potential, especially a girl, with our numbers already dwindling." I tried to sound confident and I hoped I had.

"None of that is really your place to say, novice Belikov," she answered primly. "However, you have a couple sound points. Regardless, there is no way she could possibly catch up to her classmates and graduate on time."

"She can join the training sessions Belikov and I already have in place," Mikhail spoke from his place on the wall. I shot him a grateful look. He gave me a barely noticeable nod. "Between the two of us, we should have her back on track in a couple of months."

"And we just let her go unpunished?" Kirova leaned back in her chair, sighing in annoyance.

"Of course not," Mikhail answered. "Find some other way to punish her." I suddenly realized I still had my hand on her should and dropped it as the adults took the conversation back over.

"Even if she stays, there is no way such a reckless, impulsive girl would be a good fit to guard the last Dragomir after the stunts she's pulled," Kirova was out for blood.

"But my parents!" Lissa started to protest once again but Kirova held a hand up.

"I know what your parents wanted," she placed the hand on her chest. "God rest their souls, but Miss Hathaway is nothing more than a delinquent."

"They have a bond," I blurted, knowing Rose would be pissed but willing to try anything to get Kirova to let her stay. Sure enough, she gripped her armrests so tightly, I was certain they'd break.

"What a gift," Victor Dashkov murmured from his chair along the side of the room.

"That's not possible," Kirova breathed at the same time. "That hasn't happened in centuries."

"Rose told me several months before they left," I said, as she turned to glare at me. I shot her an apologetic look, hoping she'd notice. "She's the ideal future guardian for the Princess."

"The boy has a point, Headmistress," Victor jumped in to defend the girls. "It would be foolish to waste such an extraordinary gift." Kirova looked about ready to explode. She pinched the bridge of her nose before letting out a long sigh.

"Very well," she finally conceded. "Hathaway can stay. She will join Tanner and Belikov's training sessions before and after normal classes. She will otherwise be bared from any and all social activities outside of meals."

"Thank you, Headmistress," Lissa leaned forward. Kirova released us all to class after that. I took off at a brisk pace to group defense class.

"Dimitri!" Rose called, jogging up to me.

"What do you want, Rose?" I bit out, not looking at her. I knew it was cold but she'd broken my heart when she left.

"I…I thought maybe we could talk," she stammered.

"About what?" I shot out, glancing back at her with my mask firmly in place. "You left me, remember?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered, slowly. I spun on my heel, stopping her in her tracks. She looked up at me, eyes cloudy.

"You're sorry?" I laughed bitterly. "Sorry doesn't cut it in this case, Rose. For two years, I had to sit around and worry and wonder if you were even alive. Now that I know you are, we can both move on with our lives."

"Why'd you defend me back there then?" she asked, anger sparking in her dark eyes.

"Lissa needs you," I replied, glaring down at her. "She was my friend too. You've made it perfectly clear that she comes first. I was looking out for her, not you." I stormed off and into the gym. I knew she wasn't far behind, as all novices in our grade had group the same period. I threw my bag against the wall, listening in on the other novice's greeting my Roza.

"Hathaway! Don't run away!" Mason practically sang.

"Pick your jaw up off the floor, Ashford!" Rose's voice rang out, followed by her laugh. "Now's not a good time to think about me naked!" I stiffened. The image of her naked was burned into my memory forever.

"It's always a good time to think about you naked," Mason smirked, Eddie laughed and just like that, the novice's welcomed her back with open arms. I watched her pair up with Mason and partnered up with Shane Reyes myself, turning my attention away from Rose and back to my training. We wrapped up class about forty-five minutes later and I made my way to Guardian Alto's class. I got there fairly early and set out my notebook and pencil, leaning back in my chair. The final bell rang as someone plopped into the desk next to me. A glance to my side showed Rose, looking minorly dejected after getting her ass handed to her back at the gym. I bit back a sigh and turned my full attention to the front of the room. Alto drug Rose to the front of the room, intending to embarrass her. It was hard to watch and he ended up kicking her out of class. A pang of sympathy shot through me at her public humiliation but he wasn't exactly wrong. I caught Rose and Jesse Zelkos shooting each other flirty looks during art history but the rest of the day was mostly uneventful. I made a bee line for the gym to help Mikhail set up the mats we'd need. I heard Rose toss her bag to the floor and approach us.

"Hear me out," she announced, making us both turn towards her. "Just let me off the hook today, since I already got my ass handed to me during group this morning and we'll jump right in before class tomorrow." Mikhail squinted, studying her to see if she was kidding. I smirked, knowing she wasn't. I felt a little less angry than I had earlier. I didn't forgive her for leaving me, but I did want her in my life, I decided.

"Tell me, Roza," I said, her Russian nickname slipping out accidently. "How do you feel right now?"
"Like I got hit by a truck," she admitted, wincing.

"You'll feel worse tomorrow," I informed me, not bothering to sugar-coat it.

"Might as well jump in now, while it's still not as bad," Mikhail added, shrugging.

"You guys make a terrible case," she rolled her eyes but conceded. "What are we doing?"

"You," Mikhail pointed at her. "Are running thirty laps. Belikov, we're picking up where we left off this morning." Her mouth dropped open in shock. It was adorable.

"Excuse me?" she asked, looking stunned.

"You need to rebuild your stamina," he explained. She nodded, jaw clenched.

"Guardian Tanner," I said politely. "Perhaps I could run with her instead?" Mikhail studied me for a moment before sighing and waving us both off to run. He flopped onto the mat and pull out a book as we went outside.

"Thanks," she said shyly, as we started off at a light jog. I nodded but didn't say anything. I kept pace with her shorter stride, basking in the comfortable silence that came naturally to us. We were ten laps in before I spoke.

"I'm glad they didn't kick you out," I told her, smiling to myself as her steps faltered momentarily.

"I am too," she replied. "It'd be kind of hard to protect Lissa from, well, wherever the hell they'd have sent me." A miniscule smile pulled at my lips.

"It'd be hard for us to be friends again too," I whispered, voice almost getting carried away by the wind. Rose stopped running but it took me a moment to notice. I stopped and turned to face her.

"Friends?" she asked, softly, eyes downcast. I approached her and lifted her chin with my index finger.

"Yeah," I replied, tone gentle but eyes hard. "You really hurt me, Rose. I don't think I can be more than that." She swallowed thickly but nodded, not meeting my eyes.

"Okay," she breathed, picking our run back up. We finished our laps in complete silence before going our separate ways.

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