Chapter 27: Sunday Night
It was Sunday night and the day's events of church and Ivan were taking its toll. But Dimitri still wanted to have a meeting since all the guardians had arrived. The plan was to have the meeting then dinner and relax for the rest of the night.
We were getting dressed for the meeting and Dimitri was wearing black jeans and a white button up shirt with his sleeves rolled up. "And how is this going to stop me from jumping you in front of everyone?" I asked.
"Well I would say you can jump me anywhere, but I don't think that will help me be seen as a good leader" Dimitri smirked.
"Probably not" I said as I put on black skinny jeans and a tight v neck shirt. Dimitri pulled my back to his front, pulled my hair to one side, kissed my neck and said "How am I supposed to concentrate when you look like this?"
"You'll manage" I said with my best maneater smile.
We walked out to the meeting holding hands and as we approached everyone began to quiet down. Dimitri squeezed my hand and sat me down on a chair in front of all the guardians. Thankfully, his chair was right next to mine. Once everyone was seated, Dimitri started the meeting.
"Welcome everyone, my name is Dimitri Belikov, I will be leading this group and I will also be Rose's primary guardian. I trained at St Basil's, I am a blood master 7 and I guarded Ivan Zeklos until his death. Then I was sent to America by the Queen to find Princess Vasalisa Dragomir and Novice Rose Hathaway" Dimitri said as he pointed to me.
"After I brought them back to St Vladamir's, I became Princess Dragomir's primary guardian and was a mentor to Novice Hathaway. For those of you who have worked for Mr. Mazur, you are aware of the assignment. Those of you who have come from other assignments, the job is to protect Novice Hathaway" Dimitri paused for a moment as he gestured to me again. Dimitri passed out folders to the guardians and said "In this packet, you will find the information needed in regard to those who are hunting Novice Hathaway".
"Novice Hathaway is Mr. Mazur's only daughter and due to his line of work, Novice Hathaway has had threats made against her life by Morois and humans. She had been successfully hidden at St Vladimir's until recently, when she killed an ancient strigoi named Isaiah. Now Isaiah's followers are hunting her".
"Since leaving St Vladimir's academy, she is being threatened by Lord Adrian Ivashkov, the Queen's great nephew. He is currently being protected by Royal Guardians at Court and he is also threatening Princess Vasalisa Dragomir and Lord Christian Ozera who are being protected by guardians from St Vladimir'. However due to recent events Mr. Mazur has reinforced their protection with his own private Guardians at court."
"Novice Hathaway is also being threatened by the Aunt of Lord Christian Ozera, Lady Tasha Ozera because of some delusional ideas and possible mental breakdown. She has broken out of jail despite her magic being diminished due to medication. She is currently here in Baia and is with Guardian Andrew from St Vladamir's. Lady Ozera has also threatened her nephew, Princess Dragomir, and myself."
"The protocol is that Novice Hathaway will always have a guardian with her while inside the compound, usually myself but also Guardian Mathews or Guardian Yuri. Our main goal, other than keeping her safe is to continue to train her so she can graduate and become a guardian as well as defend herself if need be. I will also be helping to train everyone here to improve your blast or blood master standing."
"Why don't we go around and introduce ourselves quickly and let us know a little bit about your background." Dimitri said as he sat down next to me and grabbed my hand. "Before we start, I just want to let you know that Novice Hathaway and I are in a relationship and Mr. Mazur and Guardian Hathaway are aware and approve of it."
Celeste started "I am Guardian Celeste Mathews. I studied at St Andrews and I have been working at St Vladamir's for two years as Princess Dragomir's second guardian with Guardian Belikov and I am a Blast Master Seven."
"I am Guardian Yuri, I graduated from St Damascus' and have worked at St Vladamir's for five years and I have the rank of Blood Master One."
"I am Guardian Matt Logan, I trained at St Peter's, I am 20 years old and have been a Mazur guardian for two years. My main job is to train this lady" Matt said pointing at Vika. "Novice Viktoria Belikov, but I will also help with protection detail and I am a Blood Master Two."
"Vika" Dimitri said as he nodded at Vika.
"My name is Novice Vika Belikov and I am Dimitri's younger sister and for safety reasons I am being trained here with Rose."
"I am Guardian O'Brien, I have been working for Mr. Mazur for the five years. I trained at St Basil's and I am a blood master three."
"I am Guardian Cooper, I have been a Mazur Guardian for one year. I am 22 years old, I graduated from St Dominic's and I am a Blast Master 5".
"I am Guardian Ellis, I am 26 years old and I trained at St Andrews. I have been a Mazur Guardian for six years and I am a Blood Master One".
"I am Guardian Mila Volkov, I am 23 years old and I trained at St Basil's. I was a year behind Dimitri but in a different house. I am a Blast Master Four and I used to work for Zeklos family."
"I am Guardian Mikhail Andreev, I am 26 years old and I graduated from St. Basil's. I was in the same house as Dimitri and I used to kick his butt, however I am afraid he could kick mine now."
Dimitri laughed at him and said "We will find out tomorrow." The group broke out in laughter.
Guardian Andreev continued "I am a Blood Master Four and a Mazur Guardian for five years."
"I am Guardian Sokolov, I am 27 years old and I trained at St. Gabriel. I am a Blood Master Two and I have been a Mazur Guardian for four years.
"I am Guardian Ludwig, I am 23 years old and I graduated from St Peter's. I am a Blast Master Three and have worked as a Court Guardian. And I am so thankful for this opportunity, because Court is going to hell in a handbasket."
Dimitri questioned "If you have specific information about Court that could help us protect Rose, I think it would be prudent for you to speak with Mr. Mazur's head Guardian Pavel."
"I do" Guardian Ludwig said. Dimitri nodded at him then looked at the next guardian to introduce himself.
"I am Guardian Zimmerman, I am 22 years old, I graduated from St Ignatius. I am a Blood Master One and I previously worked for the Badicas" he said as there was an audible gasp. "I unfortunately was visiting my family in Italy when the attack happened."
As Guardian Zimmerman sat down and I looked at Dimitri through the corner of my eye, I knew that Dimitri was going to take time to speak with Zimmerman about his own experience.
"I am Guardian Walker, I am 23 years old and Blood Master 3. I trained at St Dominic's and I have been a Mazur Guardian for 2 years.
Once the introductions were finished Dimitri stated "Thank you for introducing yourselves, I think we have picked a good group of guardians. While we are a young team so that we can blend in with Rose, I feel we have a lot of talent here. O'Brien, Cooper, Ellis and Volkov will be primary guardians when we leave the compound. Andreev, Sokolov, Ludwig and Zimmerman will be alternate guardians to fill in as one of the primary guardians or as extra security should Novice Hathaway need it."
"However, with that being said, the threats to Novice Hathaway are evolving daily, so I ask that you be flexible with the assignments. I believe everyone has been assigned a room downstairs and has already been set up with bio-identification to get into housing, the gym and other areas?" asked Dimitri.
A chorus of yeses followed.
"I will post downstairs in hallway for now, two guardians from the alternate group will be monitoring the doorways overnight. Any changes to the schedule need to go thru Mr. Mazur, Pavel or myself. "
"Tomorrow, I will be testing the remaining guardians to determine your skill level. Mr. Mazur and Pavel have requested that we work on improving every one's rank."
"Any questions so far?" Dimitri asked. Everyone shook their heads no."
"To reiterate, Vika will be training with Guardian Logan and Rose will be training with me but I will still like them to spar with everyone to gain as much experience as possible. And in full disclosure, Mr. Mazur has made it clear that Guardians are allowed to date each other as long as it doesn't interfere with guarding. So, for the record, Rose and I are together as well as Yuri and Celeste" Dimitri said pointing at the appropriate people.
Dimitri took some time before he started on the next piece of information that we agreed to let the guardians know. "Rose and I have debated about sharing this next piece of information with you, but ultimately we believe it is important to Rose's security that her guardians aware of this information. That being said, we expect this information not to be gossiped about and kept confidential. Rose is shadow kissed, which means that she died and a spirit user brought her back to life. When Spirit users use their magic, darkness builds with in them. Rose can take the darkness from the spirit user and she can see what is happening thru the spirit users if emotions are high. We are still trying to figure things out as we go along."
"We have found out that unbounded spirit users have an obsession with the bonded dhampir. I say this because Adrian Ivashkov is a spirit user and has started to be obsessed with Rose as we have explained."
"I know this is a lot of information for the first night, we will continue to update everyone as we find out new information. Any questions so far?" Dimitri asked. No one said anything, I wondered if they were getting overwhelmed as it was a lot of information to process.
"No?" Dimitri said "Okay, if you think of any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Like I said, tomorrow we will test the remainder of the guardians. After that, the schedule will be as follows: 7am-12pm training, 12:00pm-1:00pm lunch. Vika and Rose will do class work from 1:00pm to 3pm and then back to training from 3pm to 6pm. I will be rotating guardians for afternoon training with the Novices."
Once Dimitri was done, we all went to the kitchen area where there was a massive amount of food set up buffet style. Dimitri and I sat at the dining room table with some of the guardians. Others sat at the kitchen counter and the rest were in the living area.
Dimitri seemed to be in his element. I have never seen him interact with other guardians other than Celeste and Yuri in a social setting. I was used to the stoic Guardian Belikov who guarded classes and Lissa. Obviously, he was different with me in our training sessions, but he just seemed so alive right now.
He was talking to the other guardians around the table as we ate and he had draped his arm around the back of my chair. He occasionally kissed my temple or my hair and he would also rub my back or take my hand and bring it to his lips.
I was loving this friendly, animated version of Dimitri. Vika was sitting next to me and she kept giving me side glances. I asked her in a low voice so Dimitri or Matt could not hear "Vika, you okay?".
"Um, yeah, but can we talk tomorrow?" She asked in an equally low voice.
"Of course, do you need to talk sooner? We can slip out right now" I responded.
"No, tomorrow will be fine maybe during our morning jog?" Vika asked.
"Absolutely, so is your brother always like this when he is at home?" I asked Vika, figuring she would be my best source of information.
"Yes, well at least before Ivan died" Vika said.
"Did you ever meet Ivan?" I asked pondering whether I should let her know we saw his ghost today.
"Yes, Dimka and Ivan were quite close and Ivan would occasionally come home with Dimka because his family was always jet setting around the world, much like he did after the graduated. We could see Dimka change after Ivan died, but then the old Dimka started coming back and I think it has a lot to do with you" Vika said with tears in her eyes, which caused me to tear up.
Vika and I both started laughing and crying at the same time. Matt looked over at us apprehensively and said "Belikov, do you know how to deal this situation?"
Dimitri looked over at us slightly alarmed and asked "Roza, Vika?"
"Hormones" Vika and I said simultaneously, then proceeded to crack up.
Dimitri shook his head and went back to the conversation he was having with Guardian Volkov. After dessert was brought out, I saw Baba and Pavel approached. The Mazur Guardians started to stand but Baba gestured to them to stay seated.
"Rose, Dimitri may we speak to you privately?" Baba asked.
Dimitri and I stood up and followed Baba and Pavel down the hall to our bedroom. Once there Baba started "So it's Sunday night and I know that Rose, you promised to call Adrian. Pavel and I would like to be present when you call him. We want to gauge his emotional well-being and we anticipate that he is going to make a comment about us moving Christian and Lissa out of the palace and into our house at Court. Pavel and I feel that if it comes up, you should tell him that it was for their safety since Tasha had threatened both of them and she is on the loose."
"Okay" I agreed.
"Belikov, I am assuming that you want to be present as well" Pavel asked.
"Of course," Dimitri responded.
"Alright, let's use your office for privacy" Baba suggested.
We walked into the office and the first thing I realized is there were only three chairs. Baba and Pavel went to the two comfy chairs where Dimitri usually sat. Dimitri sat down at the desk chair and pulled me to sit down on his lap.
This was not the Dimitri that I met at St Vladamir's, he would never do this in front of superiors but I was enjoying his free spirit and I was even more shocked when there was no reaction from Baba or Pavel.
Baba started "Okay, I want you to put the phone on speaker and that way we can help you answer the questions that I am sure Adrian is going to bring up. Plus, we feel he is going to request that you come to Court and when that does not work, he will threaten you and then beg you. He will attempt to use Lissa and Dimitri against you as well as your Mother and I".
"We will help you if you are unsure what to say" Pavel started and Dimitri pulled pens and paper out of the desk and handed then out, so they could write notes if necessary. "Just do your best to not let him use your past against you."
"Okay" I said and Dimitri squeezed my hand, lending me his strength.
I put my phone on the desk, placed it on speaker and called Adrian. It rang twice and then I heard Adrian's voice "Little dhampir, I didn't think you were going to call me".
Pavel wrote "Be positive"
"Of course, I was going to call Adrian. I promised I would." I said.
Baba wrote "Don't ask questions and keep your answers simple. We don't want to give him too much information." I nodded at Baba.
"So little dhampir, where are you in this big wide world?"
Pavel wrote "Parent's house. He can't trace call".
"I'm with my parents" I said.
"Ah, that's right, the parents who abandoned you for almost fourteen years, wanting nothing to do with you."
Dimitri was rubbing my back giving me support.
"And I am sure that Belikov is there with you as well. Do you know how many women he has slept with on campus? The rumors that I heard is that he has slept with every female guardian at St Vladimir's plus some of the senior and junior novices. If you want to save your reputation and be able to guard Lissa, you should really get away from your mobster father, your absentee mother and that Russian devil. I heard he already has plans to meet up with Tasha." Adrian spat at me.
Pavel wrote "Tell him to be nice or you'll end the call".
"Adrian, I was calling to talk with you, not listen to you hate on the people in my life." I said as Dimitri pulled my back closer to his front and Baba gave me a thumbs up.
"I'm sorry Rose, it's just that I am lonely at Court. You left me, now Christian and Lissa are gone, supposedly they are at your father's house at court with a bunch of guardians. Please come to Court, I can protect you better than anyone can. I can get to you in 12 hours with the Royal Jet and Royal Guardians to protect you. You will be safer than Lissa and aren't you missing Lissa, I know she is missing you." Adrian suggested.
I rolled my eyes at that and saw Baba silently chuckle. Pavel scribbled "Let him know that you will be back to St Vladimir's to do your trials and graduate."
"Adrian, I'll see you all soon. I will be back for trials and graduation and I'll get to see everyone." I said.
"Rose, if you don't tell me where you are right now, I will make sure that you never guard Lissa or Christian ever. I'll make sure that you have the lowest guardian job possible." Adrian yelled at me.
"If that is what you feel is best Adrian. I thought we were better friends than that." I said as calmly as I could. Pavel nodded at me to let me know he approved of my response.
"I'm sorry Rose, please just tell me where you are so I can come get you. Please, you aren't safe out there. If you tell me where you are, I can get my aunt to agree to have your mother come with us. Maybe even have Belikov with you".
"Little dhampir" Adrian said in a sweet voice "You are going to tell me where you are, and I am going to come and get you and we are going to live in the palace together".
Does he think he can actually compel me through the phone just by talking to me with no video? I felt Dimitri stiffen behind me and tighten his hold on me. I looked up to Baba and Pavel and for the first time I could see some nervousness on their faces.
I took the paper and pen that Dimitri had and wrote "Lissa?"
Pavel wrote back "Safe!".
Baba wrote "Tell him you will call him next Sunday".
"Adrian, I need to go and do my schoolwork but I will call you next Sunday." I said.
Adrian cut me off from finishing and yelled "Rose, I swear if you don't tell me what I want to know, I will make you my blood whore and when I am done with you, I will find the filthiest Royal Moroi and make you their blood whore."
My eyes widened at that, Baba reached over and ended the call. Pavel abruptly got out of his chair knocking it over and leaving the room and Dimitri had an iron clad hold on me. I could hear Dimitri take deep breaths to calm himself and then he whispered in my ear and said "Breath Roza, you are safe".
I let out the breath that I had not realized I was holding and then I screamed "Lissa".
"Don't worry kiz, Lissa and Christian are already on the plane to Turkey, they took off 30 minutes ago with all the guardians. Pavel and I had anticipated that the call to Adrian wasn't going to go well".
"Pavel, is he okay?" I asked looking at his overturned chair.
"He will be, but that is his story to tell you." Baba said. After a pause, Baba continued "I have a feeling that my house at Court will be destroyed, but thankfully I have been having the guardians there packing up any important stuff. I am sorry to say, but we will no longer be welcome at Court."
"Well, no love lost between Queen Bitch and me." I said.
To which Baba let out the biggest laugh I had ever heard, he even had to hold onto the desk as he doubled over. "Kiz, I think you got the best of both your mother's and my traits." Baba said as he came over to give me a kiss on the cheek and said "I'll let you know when the Princess arrives in Turkey" as he walked out the door.
I turned to Dimitri who still had me in an iron grip on his lap. "Comrade, eventually I will need to breath or move." I said.
"Sorry, milaya" Dimitri said as he let go of me.
"I didn't say you had to let me go completely" I said as I put my arms around his neck. He put his arms loosely around my waist and put his forehead on mine. "Are you okay?" I asked him.
"I will be" he sighed.
"What can I do for you?" I asked.
"Nothing just be your awesome self" Dimitri smirked.
"Comrade" I said shaking my head. "Do you want to go back out there?"
"Yes, let's go and enjoy the rest of the evening" Dimitri said and I got off his lap and we walked back to the living area. But it was evident that he was not all right because he didn't allow me to be farther than an arm's length away from him.
One by one the guardians went to their rooms and as Dimitri and I were getting ready to call it a night, Dimitri pulled Matt aside and said "Do me a favor and walk Vika back".
"I was already planning on it. Did something happen?" Matt asked.
"Yeah, Adrian threatened Rose. We know he's at Court but he threatened to make her his personal blood whore and then he said when he was done, he would basically prostitute her out."
I watched Matt visibly pale at that statement and he said "Consider it done. Should we move Vika over here?"
"Not right now, I have a feeling we will be leaving in the next week or two to go to Turkey. The Princess is already on her way there with Christian and the Mazur Guardians. I will speak with Pavel tomorrow and get the layout of the residence in Turkey and work on assigning rooms." Dimitri stated.
Vika came over and said "Hey what's up?"
"Nothing, Roza and I were just going to bed and Matt is going to walk you back." Dimitri said a little too harshly.
"Dimka, I'm fine, I can walk back alone".
"Don't fight me on this Vika" Dimitri barked.
I put my hand on Dimitri's chest to calm him and said "Comrade, you can't bark orders at her without at least explaining why."
Dimitri sighed and pulled Vika in for a hug and said "Sorry Vika, Adrian just threatened Rose and he is unstable. I am worried about the both of you."
"Dimka it's okay, I'll go with Matt" Vika said as she gave her brother a quick squeeze and then turned to me and gave me a hug and whispered in my ear and said "Good luck with him".
At this point there were only a handful of guardians left including the two guardians who were going to watch the entrances. Dimitri gave them his orders and then we retired to our room. Matt texted Dimitri to let him know that Vika was safely delivered back to the house and that Pavel had assigned a guardian to stay with them and that he was also going to sleep on the couch as well. We got ready for bed and I could tell Dimitri was on edge, but he was resistant to all my attempts at being intimate with him, so I just curled up next to him and fell asleep quickly.
I woke up sometime in the middle of the night and I reached out for Dimitri but his side of the bed was empty and cold, which means he had been out of bed for a while. I sat up in bed and noticed that the office light was on. I got out of bed and walked into the office to find Dimitri sitting in one of the chairs reading one of his western novels.
"Hey" I said as I leaned against the door frame.
"Hey" Dimitri said as he opened his arms to me. I walked over and sat on his lap and put my arms around his neck. "I didn't wake you, did I?"
"No, but I was lonely in that big bed all by myself" I mock pouted.
"Well, we can't have that" Dimitri said as he stood up and threw me over his shoulder and walked back towards the bed. He threw me down and I bounced on the bed and I tried to launch a tickle fight with him but of course I lost.
When we were both completely out of breath and had called a truce, I asked "Feeling better?"
"Yes, thanks Roza" Dimitri said as we climbed into bed and snuggled. In a matter of minutes, I heard Dimitri's breath even out and I fell asleep quickly after that.
Thank you for all the reviews, you guys are awesome. I'm not particularly happy with this chapter, so I may revisit it and make some slight changes but the narrative will stay the same.
I hope everyone is safe out there.
Monday Morning