Chapter 12: The Plan

"Well that explains some things" Baba said "not to be too intrusive but when did this begin and how serious is it?"

"A while back we had a dance at school and Victor Dashkov kidnapped Lissa, he gave me a necklace which was a lust charm because he figured that Dimitri and I were attracted to each other. So when I knew that Lissa was kidnapped, I went to Dimitri and as soon as I saw him I started kissing him because of the lust charm. But Dimitri eventually figured out it was a lust charm and pulled the necklace off of me and then we were able to go and rescue Lissa. After that we tried to ignore our feelings for each other and we tried to fight it, but when Tasha compelled me to be scared of Dimitri, Eddie and Adrian, I hid under my bed from them. After I was found and Dimitri was assigned to protect me, we admitted how we felt about each other." I explained

"Tasha compelled you?" Babba said with increasing anger and I could see Pavel's anger rising.

"Rose and I have not discussed the extent of Tasha's compelling, I was not aware she was afraid of me, however I do need to inform you what led to Rose having Celeste and I as guardians. I am not sure how much Alberta informed you but Rose was becoming very distracted and Alberta and I were noticing it along with other guardians, her teachers and her friends. Alberta was increasing security throughout the campus and she placed cameras outside the senior novice female dorm rooms because there are not a lot of them and there is no longer a guardian on every floor".

Dimitri paused but then continued "Rose did not show up for her morning workout with me. So I went to her room and I could not find her. I contacted Alberta, who immediately notified all guardians and the Headmistress of Rose's absence. Due to her earlier behavior, Alberta and I were seriously concerned for her well-being. Her friends were made aware of her disappearance and were helping us search areas where they thought she might be. Lord Ivashkov and Novice Castile found Rose under her bed because Lord Ivashkov could see her aura."

I gave Dimitri a supporting look because I know it hurt him how I was found and knew my parents and Pavel were not going to like what he was going to say.

"They pulled her out and noticed she had a black eye and a split lip, Novice Castile picked her up with the intention of brining her to the infirmary. Rose became upset about going to the infirmary, so they brought her to me. I called Alberta and she brought Dr. Olendzki but Rose would not look at her. So Princess Vasalisa healed Rose's injuries and Alberta then assigned Celeste and I to guard Rose".

I looked at Baba whose eyes looked ice cold and Pavel had his guardian mask on but his eyes appeared just as cold.

Dimitri continued "Alberta called me to her office and we watched the video and saw Tasha talking to Rose and seemed to be compelling her and then Tasha went into the room with a Royal Moroi Jesse Zeklos. After about 30 minutes, Tasha then exited the room alone. Then 20 minutes later, Jesse Zeklos was pushed out of the room by Rose and it was evident that Rose had a black eye and a split lip. Rose had remembered a little of what happened, but when Lord Ivashkov compelled her to remember, Rose disclosed to me that Tasha had told her that she liked Jesse and that I hated Rose. Rose tried to fight the compulsion but Jesse tried to assault Rose sexually".

I heard a sharp intake of breath from my mother. Dimitri continued quickly "He was forcing himself on Rose, kissing her. And when Rose called it 'like waking up from a dream' and she tried to push Jesse off her, he punched her twice. Then last night, while we were in the matron's dorm, we heard Tasha outside Rose's door yelling to let her in and she had Jesse and another boy Ralf. We alerted Alberta and a guardian was assigned to watch each boy and two guardians for Tasha and Yuri was also assigned to Rose. Then at some point during the night Tasha escaped her two guardians but she was found and then had four guardians assigned to her."

Dimitri paused to let everyone absorb the information. My mother again had a shocked and angry look on her face but now the anger was directed and Tasha and Jesse. Baba was seething with anger and clenching and unclenching his fist and Pavel was out right angry.

Pavel asked "What else do you remember from Tasha's compulsion?"

"Pretty much what you know already. But I was going to tell Dimitri, that while I was in the dressing room I did tell Lissa what was going on including about Dimitri and me and I think that Tasha might have overheard us."

Dimitri stiffened next to me and I looked at him and said "Sorry, I didn't tell you sooner."

"It's okay; I would tell the world if it didn't mean putting you in more danger." Dimitri smiled at me.

Baba stood up and walked to look out of the window. My mother stood up and went over to my father and they were whispering to each other. Pavel looked at Dimitri and I and said "Alright, so this only emphasizes the fact that you are not safe at St Vladimir's. Rose, I'm sorry that you have friend's there that you will have to leave them behind."

"Thanks, but will I still be able to continue my training and become a guardian?" I asked.

"Yes, we intend to continue your training plus I would like to increase your training because I want you to have the skills to defend yourself from anyone, not just Strigoi. I think we can work out getting your promise mark from one of the schools. Your father has a warded and very well protected compound outside Baia, Russia and I think that might be the safest place for you right now." Pavel explained.

I felt Dimitri move next to me and I looked at him and then he turned to me and despite his guardian mask, I could see some excitement that we might go to his home town. So I felt now was the best time to make sure that Dimitri could be with me. So I asked Pavel "Will Dimitri be able to continue being my guardian and being my mentor and trainer? And if Celeste and Yuri wanted to continue guarding would that be a possibility?"

"Yes, Dimitri would be able to continue being your guardian. I've done research on him and since he is a blood master seven and he has been training with you, he is an ideal candidate. If he wants to take the position, we will discuss how to upgrade your training." Pavel stated.

I looked at Dimitri and he looked at me and said "Absolutely, I agree to be your guardian and trainer. I can resign from St Vladimir and then take a leave of absence."

"Dimitri, thank you, we will discuss your position and pay and you will find that Mr. Mazur is very generous in that area. You will be working directly under me in charge of Rose's protection. We can discuss upgrading her training a little later. As for Celeste and Yuri, I can offer you positions as well, if you like and again we can discuss pay at a later time."

I watched as Celeste and Yuri were looking at each other almost having the entire conversation through their eyes. Yuri spoke up and said "May we have some time to think about it, there are somethings Celeste and I have to discuss. And before we make any decisions, Celeste and I are in a relationship together, does that present any problems?"

Pavel replied "That is fine, thank you for telling me. Mr. Mazur and I do not have a problem with guardian relationships. There are a few in our ranks, as long as it does not interfere with your job."

At that point Baba and my mother sat down and Baba said "Sorry about leaving, I know that I have been out of your life for a while and maybe it's not my right yet as a father to be angry with Tasha and the two boys, but I do not like any woman put in that position. And I am thankful that Dimitri and your friends were there to protect you when your mother and I could not."

There was a knock on the door and one of the guardians answered the door and the hotel staff brought in an enormous amount of food. They cleaned up from the hors d'oeuvres and were setting up the table for dinner.

Baba started "Wonderful, dinner is here, why don't we all sit down to dinner and then we can retire to our rooms and rest for the night. We can meet back here for 8 am in the morning to discuss travel to Russia and just to let you know we do technically run on a human timetable not moroi , but obviously there are night shift for guardians which Pavel will work out. And I am sure that Pavel has offered you all positions in my guardian force?"

Everyone nodded at the same time. "Good, now let's eat" Abe said.

We sat around the table and talked about gossip or what is going on in the world. Anything except the threat on my life or Tasha or leaving for Russia. When I looked at Dimitri he gave me a nod as he understood I was ready to leave. He looked over to Celeste and Yuri and saw that they had finished eating. Dimitri stood up and then gave me a hand to stand up and said "Rose is tired, so I think we are going to retire for the night."

Everyone stood up and my mother gave me a hug and said "We can talk more tomorrow but I look forward to spending time with you to make up for the years we lost."

"Thanks, I would like that." I replied.

Baba gave me a hug and a kiss on the top of my head and one on each cheek. I couldn't help myself from smiling. He said "have a pleasant evening and I will see you in the morning."

Pavel gave me a hug and looked between Dimitri and I and said "Call me if you need anything. There will be two guardians outside your door all night."

"Okay, thank you Pavel."

We left Baba's suite and sure enough the guardians inside the suite had distributed themselves, two at our door and two at Baba's door.

We walked into the suite and Dimitri went straight to the room he was sharing with Celeste and I was a little sad. But then he came out of the room with his bag and said "Celeste and Yuri, you can take that room and I will be with Rose. Have a good night you two."

I said goodnight to them as well and Dimitri took my hand and led me to the suite, he closed the door and locked it. He threw his duffle bag on the bed and then he pulled me tight to his chest kissing the top of my head "How are you doing milaya?"

"I'm okay, how are you? You must be excited to see your family?"

"Yes, that was an extra bonus on top of being able to guard you and work on your training together."

I looked up at him and said "I'm so glad that Pavel said that you can stay with me."

Dimitri looked from my eyes to my lips and lowered his head and his lips were barely touching my lips and he said "Me too" as his lips crashed on mine. He swept his tongue against my bottom lip and I immediately opened my mouth to him. One of his hands went straight to my hair and the other one went to my lower back pushing me closer to him. When we broke apart to breathe, Dimitri put his forehead to mine and said "Let's get changed and get into bed. I want to hold you and we should talk."

"Okay" we broke apart and Dimitri grabbed his bag and went into the bathroom. I heard him take a quick shower. I was trying to decide whether to wear the pjs I had brought from school or if I should wear the one Dimitri had picked out. Plus I was wondering if we would finally have sex tonight especially after the dressing room incident. But I was nervous, not to have sex with Dimitri that I wanted. But Dimitri has slept with other women, so he had experience, what if I was bad at it, would he want to leave me then. Just then the bathroom door opened and Dimitri looked at me and said "What's wrong, you look nervous?"

I sighed of course he knew what I was thinking.

"Wear your old pajamas tonight. I just want to hold you tonight. I don't want you to feel nervous or pressured into making love with me" he said as he put his arms around me.

"I'm not nervous about making love with you, I desperately want to. I am just nervous about what if I suck in bed. I mean I know you've had sex before but what if I am really bad at it."

"Milaya, yes there have been other women before you and we can discuss that when you are ready, but I have never loved anyone as much as I love you. And when you love somebody as much as I love you, trust me the sex will be amazing. You just need to be open about what you like and don't like and I will guide you through it. But only when you're ready and we will go slowly, so you don't have to feel any pressure and I'll stop at any point if you are uncomfortable."

"Thanks Dimitri"

"No problem Roza, we are together now and that's all that matters" he said as he gave me the sweetest kiss. "Now go get changed" he said as he slapped my butt.

I took my old pjs and went into the bathroom and got myself ready for bed. When I came out Dimitri had organized all my bags from the bed and they were now on the floor. He had the comforter pulled down to the edge of the bed. He was on one side of the bed under the covers. He had a t-shirt and pj bottoms on and I knew it was for my benefit. But at the very least I hope he will lose the t-shirt before we fall asleep. He patted the spot next to him where the sheets were slightly pulled down for me. So I crawled in bed with my Russian god and he pulled me to him and said "Let's talk".