Chapter 32: First Night in Turkey
"Lissa!" I screamed and I hugged her as hard as I could. I didn't realize until that moment how much I missed her, she was my best friend and family all rolled into one. After I was able to extricate myself from her, I gave Christian a big hug and said "Hey Firecrotch, thanks for keeping Lissa safe."
To my surprise, Christian gave me a tight hug back and said "No problem and I missed you too, Buffy."
I laughed at Christian; I really did miss him too. Dimitri led us over to the waiting SUVs and I asked "How long does it take to get to the compound?"
Three sets of eyes looked at me like I had three heads, "What?" I exclaimed.
Dimitri was the first to speak "Roza, we are already on the property. This compound has its own landing strip."
"What? Holy shit, that is soooo cool" I said. Dimitri shook his head at me and Lissa and Christian laughed at me. After a quick ride, we pulled up to the biggest house I think I have seen in my entire life. It looked more like it should have been the Moroi dorm back at St Vladamir's. The guardians in the car ahead of us deposited a group of guardians out and they headed into the building, I assume going to their floor to get settled in.
"Comrade, what about all our stuff?" I asked thinking I didn't want to live in these clothes for a few days before I had a change of clothes.
"In anticipation of needing to leave Russia, Pavel had a separate set of uniforms, workout clothes and casual clothes ordered and sent here. Any personal items that we may need, will be flown in when the next plane arrives. Because Abe has multiple properties, Pavel said it is easier to have belongings at each house, in case of emergency departures" Dimitri said.
"Which means you get to go shopping, Abe said he wanted you to decorate each of your residences and also buy clothes for each residence as well." Dimitri said and Lissa started screaming and jumping up and down.
I nodded my head at Dimitri and then I looped my arm with Lissa and said "Come on, let's check this place out."
I was already familiar with the layout since I had seen the plans while Dimitri was assigning rooms, but it had not done the justice that it deserved. We checked out the first floor which housed storage and laundry and then I started pulling Lissa to the stairs in order to check out the home theater in the basement.
"Wait till you see this" I said to Lissa. We opened the doors to the room and it was gorgeous. There were twenty seats covered in leather with cup holders for your drinks and they reclined almost to the point of lying flat. There were blankets on some of the seats, so you could curl up and the seats were huge, Dimitri and I could definitely share one seat.
"OMG" Lissa said with her mouth wide open.
"I know, movie night will never be the same" I said laughing at her expression. There was also a mini kitchen which had drinks, snacks, candy and a popcorn maker.
We climbed to the second floor, Dimitri wanted to make sure the guardians were settling in and to get a list started if there was anything they needed from the residence in Baia. I took the opportunity to introduce Lissa and Christian to Vika and Logan and I was so happy when they seemed to hit it off. It is always hard when you try to integrate friends.
Celeste and Yuri came out when they heard us and were happy to see Lissa and Christian and know that they were both safe. Dimitri invited Vika, Matt, Celeste and Yuri to join us for dinner but they declined but suggested maybe another night. I understood, it had been a stressful day for everyone and they had just wanted to rest.
The four of us climbed to the third floor and found the lounging rooms with sofas, TVs and chairs. It looked like a great place for the guardians to hand out and relax. Dimitri made the comment that this might be an ideal place for meetings with everyone.
As we hit the fourth floor, this wonderful aroma hit us and on cue, my stomach started to rumble. A woman approached us and introduced herself as one of the chefs. She said that unlike Russia, there was no main dining hall, each house on the property had its own kitchen and staff. She told us that once we were settled, that we could discuss meal options and whether we preferred to eat with the group or dine by ourselves.
Dimitri spoke up first and said "We will probably eat the majority of our meals here with the guardians, but on special occasions we might eat on our floor, but we will give you plenty of notice."
"Very well" she said "However, for tonight, I have a few chefs upstairs preparing your meal for tonight."
"Thank you" I replied.
Finally, we reached the top floor and the aroma of delicious food hit me again and my stomach growled on cue. Everything was as expected but on a larger scale. The living room couch seemed bigger as did the flat screen and the fireplace.
We walked into the dining area next to the kitchen, to find the table beautifully set for four people. The chef came over and introduced himself. He explained that we would be eating the same meals as the guardians downstairs: beef stew on mashed potatoes and black bread. Dimitri's stomach growled at that and I laughed at him as did everyone else. The chef informed us that dinner would be ready in about thirty minutes.
We walked down the corridor to the master bedroom. Dimitri opened the French doors that led into the bedroom. There in the center of the room was a huge king-sized bed. We looked around and found that the walk-in closet was full of clothes, almost duplicate to what was in Baia, but there were also a few new pieces that looked to be native to the area.
Next, Lissa and I walked into the master bathroom and both our eyes were bugging out. It was beautifully decorated with marble all over. The shower was huge, as well as the bathtub that had steps leading up to it, looks like we will be saving a lot of water when Dimitri and I shower together. There was also his and her sinks as well as a vanity for make-up and hair.
Lissa finally found her voice and exclaimed "Rose, this is gorgeous, I can't wait to do hair and make-up here. I slightly rolled my eyes as I had become Lissa's guinea pig for trying new hairstyles and make-up techniques. I got a glimpse at the guys, Dimitri had his mouth covered trying to hide his chuckle but Christian was out right laughing at my new guinea pig status.
The office was set up a little different then in Baia, partly because there was more room. On one wall, there were four desk areas with bookcases above and four lap tops at each desk area. Baba! He was my first thought that he had kindly set this up so that the four of us could do schoolwork together. I was excited to have Lissa's help in Moroi Studies again, it was definitely not my best subject. And there were four comfy chairs surrounding a coffee table and off to the side was a small bookshelf. On closer inspection I noticed it was full of western books. While they were not some of the originals that Ivan had given Dimitri, it was still a kind gesture on Baba's part so that Dimitri could continue reading his favorite books.
I looked over to Dimitri who was examining the books on the shelf and he had the biggest smile on his face, which made me feel like the happiest woman in the world. I will have to remember to thank Baba later.
At this time, my stomach grumbled its displeasure about the fact that I had not eaten any of the delicious food that I had smelled earlier.
"Come on Roza, let's get you fed." Dimitri chuckled.
"Lissa, Christian do you need feeders?" I asked worried since I was not sure when they had last fed.
"No, we're good" Lissa started "We fed right before you landed."
"Oh good, let's eat and then I will tell you everything that has happened so far" I said leading Lissa back to the kitchen.
They were still preparing dinner when we walked back to the kitchen. Dimitri said "Why don't you girls have a seat on the couch while I see when dinner will be ready".
Lissa and I went and sat in one corner of the couch and as soon as we sat down, Lissa launched question after question at me.
"Lissa, one at a time" I said.
"Sorry Rose, how are you and Dimitri?" Lissa inquired.
"So good, Lissa, I don't know how I would have gotten through this without him. I love him so much." I said.
"And he feels the same way?" Lissa carefully asked. I nodded my head and Lissa said "Well, then I am happy for the both of you."
Just then Dimitri came over carrying a beer and two glasses of wine and Christian was carrying a beer and a tray of snacks. Dimitri handed Lissa and I a glass of wine and he sat behind me and Christian put the snacks on the table and sat behind Lissa.
"So, what happened with Adrian?' Christian asked.
"You know how Adrian can dream walk?" I asked and both Lissa and Christian nodded yes. "Well, last night he dream walked me and I couldn't wake myself up, Dimitri had to wake me up. Then Adrian dream walked Vika, Dimitri's sister and he was rough with the both of us."
"Oh no, Rose, I'm so sorry" Lissa said.
"Thanks Lissa, after Adrian dream walked the two of us, we all realized that none of us were going to go back to sleep, so we went for our workout. Dimitri thought it would be a good idea to go into town for lunch to take our mind off of everything." I said as I looked to see that Lissa and Christian were following what I was telling them.
"Once we got to the town square, Adrian was there with the Royal Guardians and the Royal Jet to bring me home to Court with the Queen's blessing."
"What, I thought the Queen hated you" Christian said which caused me to chuckle.
"She does" I said.
Dimitri explained "Abe and Pavel think that the Queen's agenda is to kill Rose to break the bond with you Lissa and have Adrian bring her back so that Rose will be bonded with him and take away his darkness. This way Adrian can better help manipulate enemies of the Queen."
Both Christian and Lissa were shocked at Adrian's behavior, Lissa spoke up first "So, what happened in the square when he found you?"
"He kept trying to get me alone, probably so he could compel me, so I would go with him. Oksana and Mark, the shadow kissed couple that you met, charmed this necklace with Spirit and I think it helped. Oksana said that if you charmed one for me, it would be even more powerful since we are bonded." I said.
"Of course, we can shop for some silver and do it right away" Lissa said excitedly, probably because she felt she could finally help me.
"How did you get away from Adrian?" Christian asked.
"Baba suggested that we talk at the hotel nearby, since we were drawing a crowd. Adrian continued to try to get me alone, but when he realized that it wasn't working, he started threatening everyone" I said as I held back one big piece of information.
"How did Adrian know where you were?" Lissa asked.
I looked pleadingly at Dimitri; I just couldn't break Christian's heart. Dimitri cleared his throat and said "Tasha was in Baia with Guardian Andrew and supposedly she called Adrian to let him know where Rose was." Dimitri said as I grabbed his hand to give him support to say the next part.
"I'm sorry Christian" Dimitri started "According to Adrian, Tasha and Guardian Andrew turned themselves Strigoi."
We all watched Christian for his reaction, I can't even imagine what he was feeling. He abruptly stood up and took off toward the stairs. Lissa stood up and started to apologize and I said "Go Liss, make sure he's okay".
"Thanks, Rose" Lissa said as she raced after Christian.
I sat back against Dimitri as he put his arm around me and kissed the top of my hair. We heard footsteps coming up the stairs and we looked over expecting Lissa and Christian, but it was Matt and Vika. They sat down across from us and Vika said "We saw Christian and Lissa run out of the building; I take it he is upset about his Aunt?"
"Yes, after what happened with his parents, I think he feels betrayed. Lissa is with him" I said.
Just then the guardians that had been cooking came into the living area to let us know dinner was ready. "Have either of you eaten?" Dimitri asked.
"No" Vika and Matt both said.
"Come on, let's eat" I said as my stomach again voiced its displeasure after missing lunch.
Dinner was wonderful, of course after not eating lunch, my shoe might have tasted good. Dimitri and Vika told Matt and me stories from their childhood. I appreciated that they were keeping the topic of conversation light due to the events of the last 24 hours.
My phone started to ring and I took it out of my back pocket and saw that the caller id was Baba.
"Hi Baba" I said as I stood up and went to sit on the couch.
"Hey kiz, how are you doing?" Baba asked.
"Okay, how's Mom? Pavel told me that she broke her clavicle." I asked.
"She is okay, Oksana healed her. I think it is her pride that is hurt more. The Royal Guardian that she went after was able to throw her into the wall. Did you speak with Christian about his Aunt?" Baba asked.
"Yeah, he took off, Lissa is with him. I think he just needs some time. Are you and Mom heading here or are you going to stay in Baia?"
"Your mother is flying out tomorrow, I have a few business things to attend to and then Pavel and I will fly out in a few days. I can't wait to show you Turkey." Baba said.
"I would love that Baba. I feel we haven't really had any time to spend with each other." I said hoping I wasn't offending him.
"I feel the same way kiz, but once I get to Turkey, we can spend as much time together as you want."
"Thanks Baba"
"Have a restful evening, you have been through a lot in the past 24 hours. Until we get to Turkey, the head guardian is Guardian Durham, don't hesitate to contact him." Baba said.
"Okay, have a good night Baba" I said hanging up the phone. I rejoined Dimitri, Vika and Matt to see that dinner had been cleared and a chocolate dessert was being served. My eyes were as bugging out and I licked my lips as I picked up the spoon. I took a bite and let out this huge moan and I heard Dimitri laugh at me.
"Whatever, I am enjoying my chocolatey goodness" I said as I moaned again. This time everyone was laughing at me.
I was scraping the bottom of this dish to get out any remnants left behind and that is when Dimitri slid his dessert over to me.
"Thanks Comrade"
As we started clearing our dessert dishes, Vika pulled me aside and asked "Rose, can I talk to you privately?"
"Of course, let's go into the bedroom" I said as I gave Dimitri a look and pointed to the bedroom with my head. Dimitri nodded his head letting me know he understood.
I closed the door to the bedroom and Vika and I sat on the bed.
"Wow, this is awesome" Vika said looking around.
"Well, feel free to hang out whenever you want. So, what's going on? Are you okay?" I asked.
Vika took a deep breath and I could tell she was trying to hold tears back.
"Vika, what is it?" I was getting concerned.
"I know these necklaces are supposed to protect us from Adrian dream walking, but I am still freaked out from what happened last night" Vika said as a few tears fell down her cheeks.
"I'm so sorry Vika" I said as wiped away her tears. "Do you want to sleep up here tonight? I can kick Dimitri to the couch." I suggested.
Vika shook her head no "I was…..I was thinking if I stayed with Matt and he could wake me up if it looked like I was in distress." Before I could respond, Vika said "Never mind, he probably wouldn't want to He is probably not even interested in me other than as his student."
"Vika, I have been watching him interact with you, as well as how he looks at you when he thinks no one is watching. Trust me, he is interested in you and he is probably just being cautious due to your freakishly huge older brother." I said as we both broke out in a fit of giggles.
"I think if you let Matt know that you are hesitant about sleeping because of Adrian, he will readily agree to watch over you."
"You really think so?" Vika asked.
"Vika, he slept on the couch when Adrian was threatening me because Matt wanted to protect you. I guarantee he will be happy to make sure you are safe, even in your dreams."
"Thanks Rose" Vika said as she gave me hug.
We walked out of the bedroom to find that Dimitri and Matt had cleaned the kitchen and were hanging out watching some TV.
"Everything okay?" Dimitri asked as he opened his arms to me.
"Yup" I said as I sat next to Dimitri and snuggled into his arms. Matt patted the space next to him and when Vika sat down he put his arms around her shoulders. I wiggled my eyebrows at Vika, which caused her to blush but I was so happy for her.
After about an hour of watching TV, it was apparent that we were all exhausted from Adrian's dream and live visits. So, Matt and Vika said goodnight and headed downstairs to the guardian's floor.
Dimitri and I walked into our bedroom and as we stripped off our clothes, Dimitri asked "Is Vika okay?"
"Yeah, she was just worried about Adrian's dream walking. Since she had never experienced it before, I think it just freaked her out."
Dimitri nodded as he lifted up the covers for me to get in and then he pulled me to his chest and kissed the top of my head. The last thing I heard was "I love you Roza".
Vika POV
Matt and I said our goodnights to Rose and Dimitri and once we reached our floor and I was standing in my doorway, Matt turned me to face him and asked "Vika, did you hear what I said?"
I started blushing and I looked at my feet trying to hide my embarrassment "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"
Matt put his hand under my chin, lifting my face so that he could look me in the eyes. "I asked if you were okay" he said as he brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. I shook my head no, I couldn't answer him because the tears were threatening to fall from my eyes.
"Are you nervous to sleep because of Adrian's ability to dream walk?"
I nodded yes as the tears fell down my face. Matt gently grabbed my face in both of his hands and used his thumbs to wipe away the tears that were falling. "Would you like me to stay with you tonight and if you seem to be having a nightmare then I can wake you up?" Matt asked.
"I don't want to impose on you" I said even though I desperately wanted him to stay with me.
"Vika, you wouldn't be imposing on me, I want to be the one to protect you." Matt said softly.
I nodded and then Matt gave me the sweetest kiss on my lips and he said "I'll be right back".
Matt went to his room and I turned around and entered my room. I changed into my comfy pjs, washed my face and brushed my teeth. Just as I walked out of my bathroom, Matt was knocking on my open bedroom door. He walked through and closed the door to my bedroom. Matt pulled down the covers and slid in on his back and patted the spot next to him.
I was nervous, I had never shared a bed with a guy before. I got in and Matt pulled me so that my head was resting on his chest and he pulled the covers around us. His arm that was on my back started playing with my hair.
"Thanks Matt, I really appreciate this. I know the necklaces are supposed to protect us, but that dream kind of fucked me up." I said.
Matt pulled my head up so that he could look at me in the eyes and said "Vika, there is nowhere in the world that I would rather be than right here. I really like you and I don't want to scare you, but I might be falling in love with you."
I couldn't stop the smile that was spreading across my face "I like you too".
Matt kissed my forehead and said "Sleep, I'll be right here for you". And with that I quickly fell into a dreamless sleep.