Chapter 22: Bonded
Karo came into the living area to let us know lunch was ready and to pick up Zoya. Just as I stood up, Yuri and Celeste came up the stairs and I froze when I saw Celeste's arm in a cast. I felt so guilty for breaking her arm while we were sparring.
Dimitri whispered in my ear "It's okay Roza, guardians get injured all the time while sparring." I turned to face Dimitri and said "But I hurt her while the darkness took over. It's not like it was an accident. I was trying to hurt everyone."
"Rose, YOU were not trying to hurt anyone, the darkness was trying to hurt everyone, we all know it wasn't you"
Dimitri looked past me at Celeste and said "I'll give you two a few minutes." Yuri followed Dimitri towards the kitchen and I turned around to face Celeste, but I couldn't stop looking at her arm in a cast.
"Celeste, I am so sorry" I said as I tried to prevent my tears from falling.
"Rose, it's fine, don't worry about it" Celeste said as she gave me a hug. "Trust me, I have been injured far worse while sparring and those guardians did not have any darkness in them."
"But" I started.
"Rose, how many times has Dimitri or your classmates put you in the infirmary?"
"Too many times" I said.
"See, it's fine, come on let's eat, I'm hungry and that food smells so good" Celeste said as my stomach growled in agreement.
Celeste and I walked into the dining room and Dimitri's eyes met mine asking if everything was alright. I nodded to him as I sat down in the chair next to him. I looked around the table and saw that not only was Dimitri's family present but so was Baba, Mom and Pavel.
Baba spoke up "I would like to propose a toast to Rose and Dimitri for bringing these two families together. I hope this meal is the first of many feasts that we will be sharing."
"Cheers" everyone said as they raised their glasses.
Dimitri explained all the different foods and pointed out what he thought I would like. I sat in silence while I picked at my food, which caused Dimitri to be worried.
"Milaya, please eat, you barely had breakfast and now you are picking at your lunch." Dimitri said.
"Sorry Comrade" I apologized. "I just don't have an appetite right now"
"Roza, there is nothing that you need to apologize for, okay" Dimitri said.
"Okay" I responded but I could tell he wasn't believing me.
Dimitri decided to try a different technique to get me to eat. He would get a fork full of food and say "Here try this, I think you'll like it." If I seemed to like it, he put a small amount on my plate.
Dimitri did this for the entire meal, I loved everything that Dimitri's family made, plus I appreciated that Dimitri was so loving as he was trying to get me to eat.
I noticed that Baba had gotten a guardian to show Paul the gym with Olena and Karo's permission so that Baba could speak with everyone. When we were almost done eating, Baba clinked his glass with a fork to get everyone's attention.
"First, thank you to the Belikov women for the amazing meal you cooked. Now as all of you know Rose is here because there are threats against her life by humans and moroi. Most of the threats are because of my line of work now and in the past. She has also attracted the attention of some strigoi due to the two strigoi that she killed in Spokane" Baba stated.
Dimitri pulled my chair closer to him and he put his arm around my shoulder lending me his strength.
"Baba continued "Dimitri, Celeste and Yuri graciously agreed to move to Russia to protect Rose. She has expressed concern for the safety of all the Belikovs since Dimitri is her primary guardian. Janine and I went to Moscow these past few days to see if there was an increase in threats when we were out in public. Unfortunately, I must report that there were increased threats. Pavel and I have explored many options to keep everyone safe and I would like to extend an offer for the Belikov family to temporarily move here. There is a house on the compound that a few of the retired guardians use and they have offered to relocate to the guest bedrooms for the time being."
"As far as Paul's schooling, he can be home schooled, or I can send a guardian with him to school, which ever will make you feel more comfortable. I can send two guardians with Victoria to St Basil's or she could stay here and do her course work remotely like Rose as there are plenty of guardians to oversee her training" Baba continued.
"Now before you answer, I just want you to know that Rose is Janine and my highest priority. We have made some mistakes like sending her to St Vladimir's at four years old and keeping my existence from her. But Rose has expressed her concern that if Dimitri is with her that could make his family a target. And I know if anything were to happen to any of you, she will feel responsible. If you would like to take some time to think it over, I can send guardians with you for protection." Baba said as Janine nodded her head agreeing.
Yeva spoke up immediately "We will stay here; it is the safest for everyone."
"Mama" Olena said.
Abe said "Great, I will send guardians with you so you can pack."
"Thank you, but we cannot stay here and do nothing" Olena said.
Baba raised his hand and said "I would be very grateful if you stayed here and cooked for Rose, she seemed to really like your cooking. Maybe you can cook one meal a day for Rose, Dimitri, Celeste and Yuri and the additional guardians we will be hiring for Rose's protection. Plus, I know it has been a while since you have spent time with Dimitri, I feel this arrangement would be beneficial for everyone."
Wow, Baba's good I thought as I looked at him and he winked at me.
"Thank you, Mr. Mazur," Olena started.
"Please call me Abe" Bab said.
"Thank you Abe. Dimitri, Victoria what do you think would be the best option for school, staying here or going back to St. Basil's?" Olena asked.
"Vika, what is your opinion. I think it might be best for you to stay here and we can train you. You will get one on one training which you can't get at St Basils" Dimitri pondered.
"If St Basil's lets me take classes remotely, I think it will work" Vika said.
"Good" Dimitri said "We can do the same testing that we went through and see where you are in terms of training and maybe we can set you up with a mentor."
Pavel spoke up and said "I can call St. Basil's, I know the head guardian, it shouldn't be a problem."
We finished eating and cleaning up from lunch. It was decided that Dimitri and I would stay here for my safety, but Baba sent plenty of guardians with the Belikovs to pack. Baba told them to just pack personal stuff as the house was fully furnished.
After the Belikov's left, Baba, Mom and Pavel stayed behind. Baba explained that when Mom and he went to Moscow there was a significant increase in threats against him, Mom and me. He also told us that there had been a few threats against the Belikovs, but he didn't want to worry them, so he had not mentioned it.
"The shadow kissed couple will be coming tonight for dinner, hopefully they will have some answers to help you with the bond." Baba said.
"Thanks Baba, maybe we can skype with Lissa as well" I replied.
Pavel asked "Have either of you had a chance to look at the potential guardians?"
"Sorry Pavel, I haven't had a chance yet" I apologized.
Dimitri said "I only had a chance to quickly look at it, but we can do it this afternoon."
"That's fine, just let me know who you have decided on" Pavel replied.
Baba spoke up and said "There is a formal dining room on the second floor of my residence, why don't you meet us there at 5 pm and it will give you some time to talk with the shadow kissed couple."
Baba, Mom and Pavel left shortly after our conversation. Dimitri and I went into the study and pulled out the folder with the guardians. Dimitri felt that with a six-person team, that there should be two females, one being Celeste. He thought it was necessary so that I could be guarded in places such as bathrooms or dressing rooms when we go out of the compounds.
We ended up picking two female guardians, one for the main team and one for the backup team. We then picked out six men, three for the main team and three for the backup team. One of the guardians for the main team was Guardian O'Brian whom Dimitri had spared with for our testing.
"Dimitri, what do you think about Guardian Matt Logan for Vika? He's twenty-one, so he's young enough to fit in when she is out. He is already a blood master three, has great reports from Pavel and is familiar with the compound and my father" I pondered.
Dimitri pulled out his information and he agreed "Yes, I think that he looks like he could be a great mentor for Vika. I'll email Pavel our suggestions for the team as well as the guardian for Vika."
"Why don't you want to mentor her yourself?" I asked Dimitri.
"Sometimes it can be hard to train a family member, as in going too soft or too hard. And there is usually some bias to it and it can put a lot of pressure on the relationship. It's hard to spar when you are worried about injuring them" Dimitri responded.
"You mean like a black eye" I said as I reminisced about my mother giving me a black eye when we sparred.
"Exactly" Dimitri responded. "Come on, let's go downstairs, my family should be here shortly."
A couple of minutes later, Pavel joined us as we waited.
"I've looked over the guardians you have chosen, and I think you picked out a great team. Those who already work for Abe, will move in to the second floor where Celeste and Yuri reside. The guardians that do not work for him, were contacted and all of them accepted the position and will be filtering in over the next week." Pavel stated.
"Wow, that was fast" I said.
"Well, we are very efficient around here" Pavel smirked at me "and Guardian Logan agreed to work with Victoria as long as she agreed as well."
A couple of minutes later, three vans pulled up to the house that the Belikovs would be staying in. They didn't have much luggage as they only needed clothes and personal stuff.
Dimitri and I grabbed some bags and followed as Olena and Yeva decided the bedroom arrangement. Once all the vans were unloaded, two guardians stayed behind to put the crib for Zoya back together. Then Dimitri's family followed Pavel to get their fingerprints so they could access their house and other areas.
After Vika was finished being fingerprinted, Dimitri said "Mama, I'm going to take Vika on a tour of the compound, especially the gym."
Vika followed us and when we walked into the gym, her eyes were bugging out, which I am sure is what I looked like when I first saw the gym.
"Oh my god, this is awesome" Vika said as she looked around.
"I know right" I replied.
As we were showing Vika around the gym, Dimitri was telling her about Guardian Logan who we thought would be a good mentor for her. But Dimitri explained that he had accepted the job on the basis that she agreed as well. But he stressed that if at any time she didn't like or feel comfortable with him to let Pavel or us know and we could change mentors.
By the time we finished giving Vika a tour it was 4 pm.
Dimitri stated "Vika, tomorrow I will run you through the testing that Pavel gave us, it's just a way to gauge where you are in your training. We will be testing your endurance by running, sit ups and pull ups. Have you had any stake training yet?"
"No, not really. We had a couple classes that's it so far." Vika responded.
"That's what I thought, Roza hasn't had much training either. We will also have you spar with Guardian Logan, so I can see where you are and it will give the both of you some interaction to see if you feel he will be a good mentor for you." Dimitri explained.
"Okay" Vika responded.
"Why don't you come to the gym at 7am, it will give me time to get Roza started on some weight training and set up for your testing" Dimitri explained.
"Alright, I'll see you in the morning" Vika said.
We said our goodbyes to Vika and just as we were leaving the house, Dimitri picked up a box. As we were walking back to our suite I asked "What's in the box?"
"My westerns. I asked Mama to pack them, I haven't had them all together since I was with Ivan. I don't know it's probably silly, but it is really the only belonging I care about" Dimitri shrugged.
"It's not silly, I get it, I mean I still have my stuffed dog from when I was four even though I had no idea at the time where he came from. And I kept your sweatshirt from the night of the lust charm" I said as I started to blush.
"I like it when you blush Roza" Dimitri smirked at me.
We got ready for the meeting with Mark and Oksana. It was 4:45 and I was just finishing with a little make up. I decided to wear a grey knit sweater dress and matching grey boots. I left my hair out and gave it a few extra curls.
Dimitri came into the bathroom where I was doing my makeup when he said "Milaya, you look beautiful."
"Thanks Comrade" I said as I looked him up and down. He was wearing black jeans and a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. "You look handsome yourself."
I put on some lip gloss and said "Come on, let's go."
Celeste and Yuri were in the family room watching tv. We said goodbye as we left for dinner. I heard some activity on the second floor as we descended on the stairs. Pavel was right, they were very efficient here.
"We have a few minutes, do you mind if we go say hi?" Dimitri asked me.
"Not at all" I said "I would like to meet them as well."
We walked onto the second floor and Dimitri knocked on the first door we came to.
"HI, Guardian Cooper, I just wanted to introduce myself and welcome you to the team. I am Guardian Dimitri Belikov and this is Novice Rose Hathaway" Dimitri stated.
"Nice to meet you both and thank you for hiring me for this team" Cooper said as he shook both of our hands.
Two other guardians came over when they had heard us and introduced themselves.
"Hi, Guardian Ellis and this is Guardian Andreev, we are excited to be on the team" Ellis said.
"Guardian Belikov and Novice Hathaway" Dimitri introduced us. "Rose and I have a meeting to attend, but it was nice meeting you and I will see everyone in the morning 8 am for testing. I just want to get a sense as to where everyone skill level is."
We said goodbye and headed down the stairs to meet with Baba, Mom and Pavel with the shadow-kissed couple.
"Nervous?" Dimitri asked me.
"Hmm, maybe more like excited to meet someone who understands what I go thru" I said honestly. I saw a quick flash of hurt on Dimitri's face but then he covered it up with his guardian mask.
I stopped him at the bottom of the stairs and said "Dimitri, it's not that you don't understand or sympathize, but you also don't understand what it is like to all of a sudden get pulled into someone else's head without your permission."
"Your right Roza, I'm sorry, I wish I could help you with this." Dimitri said.
"But you do Comrade, you are so loving and supportive of me and that is something no one else can fill" I said as I gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
Dimitri and I walked across the indoor courtyard and up the stairs to the second floor. We entered a huge room that had a long table that looked like it could fit 20 people. Baba, Mom and Pavel were already there speaking with two people, whom I assumed were the shadow kissed couple.
Baba turned as we entered the room. "Ahh, Rose, Dimitri, this is Mark and Oksana. Mark, Oksana, this is my daughter Rose and her boyfriend Dimitri."
We all shook hands and Oksana asked "Are you two bonded to each other?"
"No, I am bonded to my best friend. I was with her and her family in a car when we were hit head on. Everyone in the car died except her and she said that she touched me and all these emotions went thru her and the next thing she knew, I started breathing." I explained.
"As time went on, I started getting pulled into her head when she was having extreme emotions. I then realized if I concentrated hard enough, that I could slip into her head. We discovered that she had Spirit, even though at the time we didn't know what to call it" I continued.
"She started using Spirit a lot because we were trying to figure out what her abilities really were. But then she started with the depression and she began cutting herself. I remember thinking, I wish I could take it away for her and then suddenly she was fine and I was pissed." I said as Dimitri was rubbing the back of my hand.
"We found another Spirit user, but he does not have a shadow kissed partner, so he tries to control the darkness with drinking and smoking" I finished. I didn't want to give them any names yet until I knew I could trust them.
Oksana started first "That is similar to our experience. Mark was assigned to me as my guardian and one day we were attacked by two strigoi. He managed to kill both of them but he was fatally wounded and he died before I could get to him. I healed him, knowing I could save his life but I had no idea that we would become bonded. Over the years, we have figured out a lot about our bond."
Mark continued "For example, while I can go into her head and hear what she is thinking, feeling and seeing. She can sense my mood, which is particularly helpful when I take too much darkness from her."
I looked around the room and could see how everyone was hanging on their every word. "If you don't mind me asking, how long have you been bonded?" I asked.
"About 10 years, it took a couple of years to develop an equilibrium between us." Oksana said.
"Did you know you had Spirit before you bonded" I asked.
"We were starting to get to figure it out. I had always known that I was different in that I could control more than one element and I could also feel what other people were feeling and that I could heal someone. Mark became my guardian six years before we figured it out that I specialized in Spirit. We fell in love three years after he became my guardian." Oksana explained.
"We have found other bonded partners over the years and keep in touch with a few of them. I'll call them and see if we can get a few to visit while you are here so that you can speak with them." Mark said.
"That would be great!" I exclaimed.
"Mark and I spoke as soon as Yeva and your father contacted us. As you know being bonded it difficult at times, and there is a lot if information to process. We don't want to overwhelm you all at once and we are willing to meet you as many times as you want." Oksana said cautiously.
"That's probably a good idea, I was hoping to skype with my bond mate, but it has been a big day for the both of us. I ended up taking the darkness from her today. Is there anything that I need to know immediately?" I asked.
I didn't miss the nervous glances between Mark and Oksana and neither did Dimitri, Baba, Mom and Pavel.
Oksana took a deep breath and said "One of the biggest threats to us are unbonded Spirit users. They have no outlet for their darkness and they can become unsteady and unreliable especially towards the dhampir of a bonded pair."
"Adrian" I whispered as Dimitri tensed near me and his grasp on my had become tighter.
"What problems can we except from an unbonded Spirit user?" Baba asked being the first time he had said anything in this meeting.
"We have tried to stay away from them as much as possible, but it is like the Spirit user is obsessed with bonded dhampir. So, my advice would be trying to stay away or always be sure there are people you trust around you." Mark said.
Dimitri's grip on my hand was getting tighter, almost to the point of pain.
"Dimitri" I said to him.
"Sorry, milaya" he whispered once he realized what he was doing.
"Okay, so anything else to watch out for?" I asked, not sure that I wanted to know the answers.
"Well, another thing we have heard, but we don't have any proof yet, is that when you, Rose, were brought back by a Spirit user, you might be able to become pregnant." Oksana explained.
I looked at her to Mark and then around the room. The room started to spin on me and the last thing I remembered was Dimitri's face at the end of a long tunnel yelling "Roza" before everything went black.
As I started to become aware of my surroundings, I could tell I was on something soft. I could smell pine, but that didn't make sense seeing how I wouldn't be on something this soft outside. Unless I died, did I die?
I started to hear voices, but I couldn't tell what they were saying. One of the voices that was closest to me was deep and I knew it was a voice I knew well, but I couldn't just put my finger on it.
I tried to open my eyes, but that wasn't happening. I started to try to move my right hand, but it was caught in something soft, warm and big. As my fingers wiggled a little, I heard "Roza, Roza, can you hear me?"
Then I felt someone else's fingers on my other wrist like they were taking a pulse. "I think she is coming around" another voice said.
It all came back to me Dimitri, my parents, the threats, the darkness, Mark and Oksana. At that moment, all I wanted was the man of my dreams.
"Dimitri?" I managed to squeak out.
"I'm right here milaya" Dimitri whispered in my ear as his hold on my hand tightened. And with that I curled into him, my mentor, my protector, my lover.
I always thank those who leave me reviews, I love reading them. But I forget to thank those of you who are reading my story as well. I am amazed how many people are reading it, so thank you so much. And no offense to other authors who won't publish more chapters unless they get a lot of reviews, I won't do that. This is just a story tumbling in my head that I need to get out and I am happy to have you along for the journey.