Chapter 34: Debriefing
After finishing lunch with Mom, I went to the third floor to look for Dimitri. I checked in the different rooms but did not find him, but I found Vika sitting by herself on a couch.
"Hey Vika" I said as I sat down next to her.
"Hey Rose, how was lunch with your Mom?" Vika asked.
"Really good, she told me a lot about her family and how she and my father got together. Plus, she made some of Baba's favorite Turkish food and it was so good. We definitely need to go out to eat some night and try the restaurants." I said.
"That sounds like fun, do you think they will let us with everything that has happened with Adrian and Tasha?" Vika asked.
"I think so, maybe we could lunch instead of a dinner so we are not out after dark. Have you seen Dimitri?" I asked.
"Yeah, he was here a few minutes ago, I think he went looking for Matt" Vika said as she nervously bit on her bottom lip.
"Why, what happened?"
"When Dimka joined us for lunch, he was watching us. He came to talk to me to make sure that Matt was treating me well. Which he totally is, but I'm afraid that maybe he went to talk with Matt. I don't want him to scare Matt off, I really like him." Vika said as she looked down at her hands.
"Well, if Matt truly likes you, I'm sure Dimitri will be unable to scare him off. So, what happened last night? The two of you were in your own happy world at breakfast."
Vika looked around the room to make sure that no one was in ear shot. Vika started speaking softly "When we left last night to go to our rooms, Matt was talking to me but I was so worried about Adrian's dream walking that I didn't hear anything he said. Matt guessed that I was nervous to go to sleep, so he offered to stay with me all night and wake me up if it appeared that I was having a nightmare."
"Really? That's great Vika, I am so happy for you. Did he kiss you?" I asked excitedly.
"Yes, and it was so sweet and I loved sleeping in his arms. It was the best thing ever." Vika said with a huge grin on her face. "He told me that he really likes me, that he wanted to always protect me and that he thought he was falling in love with me."
I squealed and gave her a huge hug. Yes, Rose Hathaway actually squealed! "Vika, I am so happy for you. And don't worry about Dimitri, I'll make sure Dimitri gives the two of you space."
"Thanks Rose" Vika said as she hugged me back. "I am so glad Dimka found you."
I looked up to see the man himself walk in and smile at me "Speak of the devil"
"Hey Roza" Dimitri said as he gave me a quick peck on the lips. "How was lunch with your mom?"
"Good, really good. She told me about her family and about her and Baba meeting." I told him. "Vika was telling me about your earlier conversation, were you nice to Matt when you went to talk with him?"
"Yes, Roza, I was nice. I just reiterated that he needed to be respectful of Vika and that if he hurt Vika in any way, that you would kick his ass." Dimitri said laughing.
"Dam straight, I'll kick his ass" I said laughing as Vika laughed with us.
"Come on, let's get ready for the meeting." Dimitri said.
We went into the main area of the rec floor and some of the guardians were bringing out extra chairs and couches for everyone. Vika and I sat on one of the couches and shortly after that Matt came from downstairs and sat next to Vika. Dimitri was at the front of the room speaking with Guardian Dunham waiting for everyone to gather.
Lissa and Christin arrived with their guardians and Lissa and Christian sat together on a couch next to me. "How are you feeling?" I asked Lissa.
"A little bit better" Lissa said with some tears in her eyes.
"Liss, it's okay" I said as I stood up and went over to her and gave her a hug. "You have some darkness in you that is not helping. Just so you are not blind-sided, Dimitri is going to discuss a plan for me to take the darkness away tomorrow."
"Rose, I don't want you to do that, I feel bad" Lissa said with tears streaming as Christian tried to comfort her. "Maybe I should go back on my meds?"
"Why don't we wait until Baba and Pavel arrive and then we can speak with the both of them and the doctor here and maybe skype Oksana and Mark and we can come up with a plan." I suggested.
"Okay, that sounds good, thanks Rose"
"No problem" I said as I sat back down.
I saw Mom duck in the back of the room right before we started.
Dimitri started "I just wanted to meet with everyone to discuss the past few days events. First, I want to introduce Guardian Dunham, those of you who have worked for Mr. Mazur are probably familiar with him. For those who are new, Guardian Dunham is in charge in Turkey when Mr. Mazur and Pavel are not here. If you have any questions or problems, he is here to help or you can come to me."
With that said, Guardian Dunham sat down with the rest of the guardians. "I want to introduce some new members of our team. First, Princess Vasilisa Dragomir and Lord Christian Ozera have joined us from Court. They have been under Mr. Mazur's protection due to Lord Adrian Ivashkov's and Lady Tasha Ozera's actions and they arrived in Turkey a few days before us. They have been assigned four guardians while they are staying here in Turkey, Guardian James, Guardian Demir, Guardian Mills and Guardian Acar."
Each guardian stood up as they were introduced. "While they are the primary guardians of Princess Dragomir and Lord Ozera from time to time there maybe adjustment in assignments, so I just ask if everyone can be flexible." Dimitri said as everyone seemed to agree. I was enjoying Dimitri's new leadership role and it was sexy as hell I thought as I winked at him.
"I want to thank everyone for your quick actions that allowed us to get Rose away from Adrian Ivashkov. And just to reiterate, Adrian is a spirit user, he can see people's auras which makes him able to tell whether you are telling the truth or lying. Mr. Mazur feels that because of this ability, the Queen is after Rose, so that she can become bonded with Adrian and take away his darkness. Then the Queen can use Adrian to further whatever agenda she has."
"Rose is bonded to Princess Dragomir currently and the only way to change that would be for Rose to die to break the bond and for Adrian to bring her back and create a new bond. It is only a matter of time before Adrian figures out where we have gone, if he doesn't know already. Plus, he has the protection of the Royal Guardians with him. Mr. Mazur has stated that we are allowed to use any force necessary in order to protect Rose." Dimitri paused as he let everyone process the information.
"Lady Tasha Ozera, Aunt of Lord Christian Ozera, and Guardian Andrews from St Vladimir's have threatened the lives of Princess Dragomir and Lord Ozera and Rose in order to get to me. Rose by compelling her to believe that Novice Castile and myself were a danger to her and she had two moroi students who were going to sexually assault her. Tasha Ozera was being guarded by four guardians and she killed them all and burnt down the cabin she was staying in. She threatened Princess Dragomir's life by demanding Rose and I go to her or she was going to burn the Princess with fire. Christian Ozera protected her until guardians arrived and were able to take her into custody.
"We have learned that Tasha Ozera and Guardian Andrews have turned themselves into Strigoi per Adrian. We currently do not have conformation, but we will act as if the information is true. She has training in martial arts and ran a studio in the human world. At that time, her skills were not at the level of a guardian, but obviously as a strigoi, she will be much more lethal. And Guardian Andrews is a well-trained guardian, he is a blood master three, so as a strigoi he will also be a lethal fighter"
"We also know that there are strigoi who are actively hunting Rose due to the fact that she killed two ancient strigoi in Spokane, Washington. It is unknown whether Tasha and Andrews may have teamed up with them, but that is something we must consider. And as I explained in Russia, there are still humans and Moroi who have threatened Rose due to Mr. Mazur's business dealings. Pavel or I will pass along updated information as we receive it."
I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed as I listened to Dimitri explain all the threats against me. Vika put her arm around me and gave me a side hug and then started rubbing my back as I watched Dimitri's face soften slightly before he continued.
"I feel the extraction of Lissa and Christian from their residence at the Palace to Mr. Mazur's residence at Court and then the extraction to Turkey was well executed. Does anyone have any suggestions or concerns?" Dimitri asked. Guardian James who was in charge at Court spoke up "I feel everything went well, Pavel had organized everything for us and I cannot think of anything we could have done differently." The other guardians as well as Lissa and Christian agreed.
"Good, and as for our interaction with Adrian in Baia, I feel it went as smooth as it could under the circumstances. Anyone have any suggestions or concerns?"
Guardian O'Brien spoke up "The only suggestion that I have looking back, is that maybe we could have sent a few guardians ahead of time to secure the square. I don't know if it would have changed the outcome, but we might have had a little more warning that Adrian was there."
"Thank you" Dimitri said "That is a great suggestion and I will keep that in mind next time we have an excursion."
Yuri spoke up next "I agree with O'Brien and I think if we had surveyed the church first, maybe we would have caught Tasha and Andrews or been aware of them being in Baia."
"Thanks Yuri, great suggestion. Anyone else?" Dimitri asked. The room was quiet but Dimitri then asked "Lissa, Christian, Rose, Vika, anything from your prospective?"
We all shook our heads no, I knew from the bond that Lissa was overwhelmed and so was I. Vika was lending me her support and I could see Christian trying to comfort Lissa, but with his Aunt involved it was getting to him too. I stood up and indicated to Dimitri I wanted to talk with him privately on the side.
"Excuse us" Dimitri said as he brought me towards the stairs. "What's up Roza, you okay?" he said as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
"Yeah, it's a little overwhelming, but Lissa is really struggling and I can tell Christian is too. Maybe we should let them go back to their place, Lissa doesn't really need to be involved in the planning of me taking her darkness. It's just going to make things worse."
"Your right, I noticed them getting tense" Dimitri called Lissa and Christian over as well as their four guardians. "Lissa, Christian, why don't you go back to your place and just relax for the rest of the day. We are just going to discuss training schedules."
"Rose said you were going to discuss the plan for taking the darkness away." Lissa said as I saw her eyes watering.
"Yeah Liss, but you don't need to be involved, we are just going to discuss sparring." I said to reassure her.
"Okay" Lissa said.
Then Dimitri surprised me and said "Roza, can I speak to Lissa alone for a second?"
"Umm, okay" I gave Lissa a hug and then went back to sit with Vika. I watched them and whatever Dimitri said to her made her smile.
Lissa, Christian and their guardians left and Dimitri came back to the group and said "The next thing that we need to discuss is a plan for Rose to take the darkness from Princess Dragomir. Just to remind everyone Lissa is a spirit user who can heal and is bonded to Rose, and when she uses spirit, darkness will build up causing her to become depressed. When Rose takes the darkness from Lissa, she tends to get angry."
"The last time Rose took the darkness we were in Baia and we set it up that she had four groups of guardians to fight and each group of guardians had two back up guardians. There were four retired guardians monitoring the sparing and would swap out the guardians as needed. Rose is less focused but her strength doubles and the goal is just to tire her out. Anyone who would like to volunteer, I put up a sign-up sheet and I would like all the Blood Masters to participate if possible. We will also have the doctor available for injuries and if we need to sedate Rose. We will be doing this slower than the last time because Rose took too much darkness at once. This time we want her to slowly take a little and burn it off and then take some more."
"Guardian Dunham if you could help assigning four retired guardians?" Dimitri asked and Guardian Dunham nodded.
"Let's plan to meet in the gym at 9am tomorrow morning. Unless anyone else has anything, they would like to discuss, then we are done." Dimitri said and nobody said anything and then everyone started getting up and going about their business.
Guardian Dunham came over to Dimitri and me and said "I spoke with Pavel after I spoke with the both of you this morning. I have set up the retired guardians and the doctor will be on stand-by. Just let me know if you need anything else." Dimitri shook his hand and then Guardian Dunham left.
Vika and Matt walked over to us and Dimitri said "I was thinking that Rose and I are going to work out and see if you wanted to come or you are free till tomorrow."
Matt spoke up and said "We had a pretty intense workout this morning, so I think we are just going to relax for the afternoon."
I wiggled my eyebrows at Vika when Matt said that but I made sure Dimitri didn't see me do it. "Okay, come on Novice Hathaway let's get changed."
"See you guys later" I said to Vika and Matt with a big smile on my face. Vika gave me a quick death look and I started laughing at her.
Dimitri and I got changed and went to the gym, it was about 2pm and there were a few guardians working out but for the most part it was empty. We started stretching and Dimitri asked me how lunch with my Mom was.
"It was really good, she made me some Turkish dishes that Baba likes and they were so good. We need to go to some restaurants around here and try some more food." Dimitri laughed at me because food is never far from my mind.
"Once your father and Pavel arrive, we can discuss venturing out as they will know the safest places and times to go. What did your Mom tell you about her family?"
"She has two older brothers and a sister, all of whom live in the human world and I have cousins" I excitedly told Dimitri. "She said that she was going to talk to Baba and set it up so either we can visit them or they can come here."
"That sounds great Roza, I am happy for you. Come on let's run for a warm-up and I want to discuss some changes that I want to make to your training."
"Okay" I said as we climbed to the second floor where the track was. "So, what changes do you want to make?"
"I want to increase our laps and our speed so that we can increase our endurance and Matt and Vika will be included as well. I want you and Vika to increase your weights slowly as well as your flexibility. I liked when we did the yoga the other day, I think it was beneficial. Pavel said there is a retired guardian who runs classes for the guardians and I was thinking we should attend classes three times a week."
"Yeah, I would like that, it felt so good when we did it." I responded.
"I spoke with Pavel while you were with your Mom and your father is hiring tutors for Lissa and Christian and then for you and Vika. He wants to get you through your schoolwork quicker, so that we can concentrate on training."
"That sounds like a good idea" I said "I hate the school aspect of it anyways, so the sooner it is done the better."
"Your father, Pavel and I all agreed that we need to step up your training and Vika's training as well. We are going to increase the number of sparring partners as well as group sparring events. And the last thing will be weapons training. Obviously stake training but also other weapons, which the Pavel will be instructing us all on."
We finished running and went to the weight room and Dimitri spotted me.
"I wanted to talk to you about something first to get your opinion and if you agree then we can talk with Pavel and Baba."
"Shoot" Dimitri said.
"Well, I think it is pretty obvious that I can't guard Lissa or anyone else, which is a conversation that I am dreading having with her." I said.
"No, I agree, you cannot guard her or anyone else. I'm sorry about that, but I can help with the discussion if you want."
"Thanks, I might take you up on that offer. Anyways, I have been thinking about our future over the last few weeks since everything that happened and I had an idea."
"Okay, what were you thinking?" Dimitri asked as we switched places.
"I was thinking that with your experience, maybe we could help Pavel and Baba out by training the new recruits that he hires?" I said cautiously.
"I was thinking along the same lines, as well as helping current guardians advance their training. And we should have a conversation with your father about what are his plans for his business in the future. Is he thinking that you would take over his empire, at least his legal ventures."
"Yeah, I should probably find out what ALL his businesses are." I said.
Dimitri smirked at that "Come on, let's go spar."
Thirty minutes and four takedowns later, I was straddling Dimitri with my hand over his heart saying "Dead!" Dimitri had the biggest smile on his face as well as a look of pride in his eyes.
"Very good Novice Hathaway"
"Why thank you Guardian Belikov. Do I get a reward for my hard work?" I asked while looking at him through my eyelashes.
"Maybe later, but I have a surprise for you first." Dimitri said.
"What is it? I love surprises!" I said as I was positively giddy at this point.
"Come on, let's go back to our room" Dimitri said as he got up off the floor and grabbed my hand and we started walking back to our room.
We got to the fifth floor and Dimitri opened the door and inside was Lissa, Vika and Celeste. "What is this?" I gasped.
"Well, they are here to help you get ready for a private dinner with me" Dimitri said with a little hesitation. Like I would ever say no to a date with him. I jumped up into his arms and as he caught me, I wrapped my legs around his waist.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you" I said in between kissing him.
Dimitri laughed "Your Welcome, I will come and get you when everything is ready. Enjoy!" he put me down and gave me a quick kiss and then he walked out of the room.
I turned towards the girls and I let out a very un-Hathaway squeal. Celeste started "Vika and Lissa go to the closet to pick out some clothes, I'll get your underwear and Rose go take a shower."
"Yes, ma'am" I said and Vika yelled "Ewe, I don't want to know what you are wearing underneath!" as the rest of us laughed at her.
I got in the shower, washed my hair, put conditioner in and then started to wash the rest of my body and shave everywhere needed. I got out of the shower and towel dried my body and then threw a towel around my hair. There was a black lacy bra and thong on top of a satin robe. I moisturized my body with my favorite scented lotion and put on my bra and thong then wrapped myself up in the robe.
I walked out of the bathroom and saw three options of clothing laid out on the bed and a cart with champagne and fruit and cheese platter, similar to when we were in Baia. Lissa handed me a glass, then we cheered and clinked the glasses.
"So, here are the three outfits we thought you might like" Lissa said.
I chose the navy-blue wrap dress because I knew Dimitri would enjoy taking it off later.
Vika said "Have a fun evening and Celeste and I will see you in the morning."
"Wait, you don't have to leave" I exclaimed.
"It's okay, Lissa can do your hair and make-up and we are going to go hang out with the guys." Vika said as I noticed a slight blush forming.
"Fine, but I want details later" I yelled as they went out the door.
Lissa and I went into the bathroom and I sat down at the vanity as Lissa started drying my hair.
"So, we haven't really talked since we went shopping. How are you doing with everything?" Lissa asked.
"It's been a challenge, so much has happened, but Dimitri has been my rock. I hope that you can start to see him as my boyfriend and not just a guardian."
"I feel bad that I have been wrapped up in my own world, that I didn't notice what was happening between the two of you." Lissa cried.
"Liss, it's okay, you're here now" I said.
"So, have you two…you know?" Lissa asked.
I felt a slight blush creep up my neck as I remembered our first night together. "Yes, and it was wonderful. He just always seems to know what I need."
Lissa squealed in my ear "I'm so happy for you" as she gave me a hug from behind. "Okay, let's get you ready for tonight."
As Lissa was doing my hair, she only pulled the sides back and held then with pins, then she let the rest of my hair down and put big curls in. I told Lissa about our first night and some other times, she occasionally asked questions. I admitted to her that while I had enjoyed every time, we still hadn't been to adventurous.
"Just talk to him about it, ask him what he likes. Christian and I agreed we give different positions a try and if one or both of us didn't like it then we didn't do it again. You just need to be open with him." Lissa said.
"Yeah, your right, that's what he said to me in the beginning." I paused before I said "I'm sorry that you won't be allowed back at Court, but I can't lie that I am so happy that you're here."
"Yes, it kind of sucks about Court, but I'm glad I am here with you as well. The only thing is I was hoping to go to college at least. Christian has been helping me look for other colleges to attend or to see if there are any colleges that I can do online." Lissa sadly stated as she was working on my make-up.
"Alright you're done."
I looked in the mirror and I gasped "Lissa, thank you, it's looks so beautiful."
"Dimitri won't know what hit him" Lissa joked while wiggling her eyebrows. "Come on, let's get your dress and shoes."
I walked into the bedroom and took off my robe and put on the wrap dress and my strappy high heel shoes. Lissa poured more champagne and gave me a glass.
"To tonight" Lissa said and we clinked glasses. I took a sip and then there was a knock at the door.
"Who is it?" Lissa asked.
"It's Dimitri, is Rose ready?" he asked.
Lissa opened the door and then slightly hid behind it so that Dimitri would only see me. Dimitri's jaw drop as he looked me up and down. His gaze was so intense that it started stirring something deep inside me. I looked down and then I looked up at Dimitri through my lashes.
"You look beautiful Roza" Dimitri whispered as he closed the gap between us. He took my face in both of his hands and gave me the sweetest and slowest kiss. "
Dimitri was wearing black jeans, a whit button up shirt that the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. "Comrade, you look very handsome." I said.
Dimitri said "Thank you Roza". "Are you ready for dinner?"
"Yes" I said and he took my hand and looped it thru his arm. Lissa was still at the door with a big smile on her face, she said "Have fun tonight and don't worry Rose, I will clean up everything."
"Thanks Lissa, you don't have to." I stated.
Lissa responded "Don't worry, it's no problem." I gave Lissa a quick hug and whispered "Thank you".
Dimitri led me out to the kitchen and the table was beautifully decorated with white roses and white candles on a pale blue tablecloth. There were two place settings at the end of the table and one just to the side. Dimitri pulled out the chair on the side for me and helped me push it in.
Thank you for the reviews, I love reading them. I hope you are still enjoying the story.
Stay safe!