Chapter 37: Adapting
I ran out of the gym as fast as I could. I had no idea where I was going but I needed to get away. I could hear Lissa laughing through the bond and it was fueling me to get away. I could hear Dimitri shouting at me to stop and it's not that I was running away from him, but I didn't want the guardians in the gym to see me cry.
I just kept running until I saw two guardians coming out of a side door and I bolted past them through the door. I heard them protest, but as I ran up the stairwell, I heard a deep voice apologizing behind me and a single set of footsteps following me up the stairs.
For someone who was about a foot taller than me and had 100lbs of more muscle on them, Dimitri was rather light on his feet. Probably something I needed to work on as my footsteps echoed loudly in the stairwell.
I reached the top of the stairs and pushed through the door marked emergency roof exit. As soon as I opened it an annoying alarm went off, but I didn't care, it drowned out Lissa's laughing through the bond.
Once I felt the sunlight on me, I dropped to all fours. I was panting from sprinting up seven flights of stairs, I was crying because of Lissa and I was screaming at the top of my lungs because of Lissa and let me tell you doing all three at once was not a pretty sight.
Dimitri who was right behind me, grabbed me and pulled me into his lap cradling me and speaking softly to me. Once I began to settle down, I heard Dimitri speaking with someone and I had noticed that the rooftop alarm had silenced as well as Lissa's laughing in my head.
One trait that Dimitri possesses that I do not is patience. He never asked me anything, he just held me, kissed me and talked softly in English and Russian. He knew I would eventually tell him what was going on so he just waited until I was ready.
After what seemed like hours later but in reality, it was probably about thirty minutes, I took a deep breath and said it a quiet voice "Sorry Comrade".
"What happened?" he said as he stroked my hair.
" I reached out to Lissa through the bond to find the darkness, but I was bombarded with these images and thoughts where she blamed me for everything that has happened to her from her family dying to her not becoming Queen."
"I'm so sorry Roza" Dimitri said wrapping his arms around me even tighter if that was even possible.
After about another ten minutes of him holding me he said "Your father and Pavel landed about fifteen minutes ago, so I am sure they will be here soon." Dimitri warned me.
"Speak of the devil and he shall appear" Baba said. He walked over to where I was and knelt in front of me "Hey Kiz, what happened? Are you okay?"
I nodded my head.
"I am afraid I am only going to make it worse. Let's go to the fourth-floor study and we can talk okay?"
"Okay" I said as I started to stand up from Dimitri's lap. It was day's like this that I was so thankful that Dimitri was in my life, but I also worried that someday it might be too much for him.
"It's gonna be one of those days where you are going to need your big girl panties on" Baba said jokingly trying to lighten the mood.
Trying to muster up some Rose bravado, I said "What if I'm not wearing any panties?"
I watched as a murderous look came over Baba's face, I could hear Dimitri softly swearing behind me and could tell he was pinching the bridge of his nose wondering if he was going to live past the next 30 seconds.
Then about two seconds later, I heard it clear as day from the door. Pavel let out this maniacal laugh that I couldn't help but join in. We both had tears falling down our faces, it was probably the best thing that could have happened.
Pavel and I had finally been able to get ourselves under control when Baba said "If the two of you are done, may we continue to the study?"
I have no idea why but it started another fit of laughter from Pavel and me. Dimitri threw me over his shoulder and said to Baba "I got her, he's your problem."
"I strike fear into the hearts of humans, dhampirs, moroi and strigoi but my personal guardian and my daughter laugh in my face" Baba stated.
My emotions were all over the place, I didn't know if it was because of Lissa or what, but I had resigned that I would get through today no matter what.
We walked into the fourth-floor study and Dimitri put me down and guided me to a love seat. I sat down and looked around. It was all white with color accents throughout the room, it was actually quite pretty and it looked out over a garden in the compound.
"I have always loved this room" I turned to see my mom standing next to me looking out the window. "How are you feeling Rosemarie?"
"Um, I don't know" I said honestly "I am upset with Lissa and Baba said there was more bad news coming."
"Yes, we have more bad news but don't worry, your father loves solving problems and he is good at it." She put her arms around my shoulders and said "Just remember, everyone in this room loves you and we are all here to help you."
"Thanks Mom" I said trying to keep the tears in my eyes from falling down my face. She let go and walked over to where Baba and Pavel were standing. I noticed at this point there was a spread of food but before I could even take a step towards it, Dimitri was at my side with a plate of food, water and two shot glasses.
Dimitri handed me one of the shot glasses and said "It's vodka".
"Really Belikov, I don't think our 17-year-old daughter needs alcohol right now." Mom said.
"Relax Janine, I told Belikov to give her a shot, I am sure she's done worse on campus or when she was on the run." Baba said looking at me and raising one eyebrow. Seriously, was I the only one in the entire world who could not do that.
I took one of the shots from Dimitri, he had the other one and we clinked glasses. Dimitri threw it back like it was water, but when I threw it back, I winced as it went down and started a coughing fit due to how strong it was. Dimitri laughed as he patted me on my back. Once I had settled down, he handed me a plate of food and said "Eat" as he sat down next to me with his own plate of food.
Once everyone was sitting, Baba started "Rose, why don't you explain what happened this morning with Lissa."
"Well, when I went into her head, I found the darkness to take but I also found all of these thoughts and images as to how she blamed me for everything in her life from her parents and brother dying to her not being able to becoming Queen. And as I left the gym, I could hear her laughing at me through the bond." I said as Dimitri took my hand lending me his support and comfort.
"After you left the gym, Rosemarie, Christian and their guardians left and brought her back to their house." Mom said.
"Pavel, call the doctor to go over to check on the Princess to see if this is due to darkness of if she's had some outward influence." Baba said as Pavel pulled out his phone to text the doctor.
"Okay Kiz, we will investigate more to figure out what is going on with her." Baba said as he looked over to Mom giving her a nod to continue.
"Rosemarie, Alberta called me this morning. There was a Strigoi attack at St Vladimir's two days ago." Mom said.
"What!" I exclaimed as I brought my hands up to cover my mouth. Dimitri instinctively pulled me closer to him, wrapping his arms around me tightly.
Baba continued "No one is sure why the attack happened, they do know that some Moroi were practicing near the ward which caused the wards to be weakened and ultimately breaking allowing the strigoi to breach the wards. However, it is extremely odd for that many strigoi to be congregating around a school in the middle of nowhere. Not to mention, strigoi are not known for working in groups."
"How many?" I asked as my voice trembled.
"Ten guardians were killed along with five Moroi teachers. Five moroi teachers, ten moroi students and eight novices were taken." Mom relayed.
Tears started to fill my eyes as Dimitris grip became stronger on me as he kissed the side of my hair speaking softly.
"Who?" I asked trying to prevent my self from crying and having a breakdown.
"The only person's name that Alberta gave me was Novice Castile." Mom said.
"Eddie" I squeaked out as the tears started to fall, I couldn't lose another friend, not today.
Mom quickly continued "Novice Castile was one of the hostages and was found unharmed by the guardians and moroi teachers who went on a rescue mission to the caves near campus where they suspected they were holed up."
I blew out the breath I was holding and relaxed my shoulders a little. "Your mother spoke with Alberta and since the reason for the raid is still under investigation it was decided that Novice Castile would be safer here under our care. Just in case the raid was related to you Rose. My guardians who remained at Court are flying to campus to pick him up and bring him here."
"Thank you, Baba," I cried as I launched myself at him. He caught me and pulled me into a tight hug and kissing my hair. "No problem Kiz." Again, I noticed a scent that seemed to be coming from Baba, maybe cologne or aftershave that had an affect of instantly relaxing me. I again pondered if it was possible that I was remembering his scent from when I was younger.
Pavel continued "Belikov, I think that there is still space in the guardian quarters on the second floor, so I think we will put Castile there. We hope to have the tutors for the novices tomorrow as well as for the Princess and Lord Ozera. Why don't you speak with your team and see if anyone is interested in mentoring him as well."
Dimitri agreed to Pavel's suggestion and I went to sit back next to Dimitri.
"Rose, why don't you and Belikov go back to your suite and relax for rest for the morning. And then continue training after lunch. Eddie won't be arriving till early tomorrow morning. Your father and I will be stopping by to check on the Princess and will give you updates on her." Pavel stated.
Dimitri stood up and put his hand out for me to help me up. "Thank you Baba, Mom and Pavel for everything" I said.
"Yes, thank you" Dimitri said.
"Rose, we are all here for you, whatever you need" Baba said as he gave me a hug. My mom came and hugged me as well. Then Dimitri led me out of the room with the hand that he was still holding.
Once we got outside, Dimitri led me to a bench lining one of the paths around the complex. He pulled me to sit down next and he put his arm around my shoulder pulling me close to him and kissing my temple.
"Talk to me Rose" Dimitri said into my hair.
I shrugged my shoulders "I just feel numb" I said looking down at my hands. "I can't lose anyone else. Mason, almost Eddie and who knows what is wrong with Lissa."
"Can you sense anything from Lissa?" Dimitri asked.
"No, I have my barriers up, it's just too much right now." I said leaning into his chest.
"It's almost lunch time, why don't we go up to our floor and find some movies to watch. I'll go get us some food from downstairs and if you are up for it, maybe Vika and Matt could join us?" Dimitri suggested.
"Do I get to choose the movie?" I asked with a smirk on my face.
"Yes" he sighed, probably slightly afraid of what I might choose.
Dimitri and I parted ways on the third floor, he went to get food and find Vika and Matt and I continued up the fifth floor and got comfy on the couch and looked through the on demand to find a good movie.
About ten minutes later, Dimitri, Vika, Matt, Celeste and Yuri came up the stairs into the living area with a mountain of food.
"I informed Celeste and Yuri about what happened at St Vladimir's and they offered to mentor Eddie." Dimitri said as everyone arranged a feast of food on the table in front of the couches. I had already gotten plates, napkins, utensils and drinks.
Ten minutes later, we all had plates piled high with food and had started watching a comedy that was recently released. It was hilarious and was probably the best thing to take my mind off today's events. I was relishing being in Dimitri's embrace surrounded by dhampir's, something that I never thought would be possible. Their presence, even if they didn't realize it, seemed to be giving me strength. It was something Lissa could never give me and something she would never understand either.
Once the movie was over, we started to clean up when Dimitri's phone rang.
"Belikov" Dimitri answered. He just listened to the caller, not giving us any idea who it was and what they were saying. "Okay, I will let her know."
We all looked at Dimitri waiting for him to inform us about his conversation. "That was Pavel, they checked on Lissa, according to Christian she has been acting weird since this morning. The doctor sedated her until they can figure out what is happening. Your father has sent for Mark and Oksana to come and see if they can help. Pavel said he suspects maybe some type of compulsion through dream walking but not sure if it is Adrian and Tasha or someone else."
I nodded at what Dimitri said and asked "Do you think I should try to reach out through the bond and see what is going on?"
"No!" Dimitri said a little to harshly. "I don't want you in her head until we can figure out what is going on. Let's go for a workout and then we can check in with Christian later." I hadn't even thought about Christian and what he was probably going through. He lost his parents, his Aunt turned and now Lissa seemed to be going off the deep end.
We all walked into the gym and it was busier than I had ever seen it before. Probably due to the hour, as we were not usually in the gym at this time and the other guardians on our team were working out since we never got a chance to train earlier.
As we approached, a few guardians came over to Dimitri, to inquire what the plan was, but Dimitri just told them to continue their workout as we were going to work as a small group.
We all started stretching and Dimitri started speaking "Vika, Rose, things are going to start to get a little more intense around here. I have a pretty good idea of Castile's ability from helping with classes at St Vlad's but there is much more we need to work on for the three of you."
I looked at Vika and noticed her silently groaning as she probably realized that we were going to be hurting over the next few weeks.
"By the look on your faces, I think you know where I am going with this. First, we are going to work on our endurance, meaning we will be increasing our laps and speed. And as Roza demonstrated earlier, we are going to start stair drills." Dimitri said as I groaned while I hung my head down.
"I am also going to increase your weights and repetitions. My goal is not to bulk either of you up too much but I do want to add some muscle weight on you. The strength that strigoi's have can throw you around like rag dolls and any little bit will help. In terms of sparring, we are going to start adding in multiple opponents. Rose, I know you have had a few opportunities, but that was mostly spirit darkness driven. And then lastly, we will be working on staking and other weapons. Castile should be here tomorrow, so workouts are going to be longer and more intense."
"As Pavel and your father explained, a tutor should be here shortly, so that we can get all the class work out of the way so we can concentrate more on combat. Abe and Janine have already spoken with Alberta and she has agreed to the accelerated course work, so yes Roza that means no more sitting through Stan's lectures." Dimitri said.
"Yes!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I started jumping and dancing all over the place. Yuri and Celeste started laughing at me while the rest of the gym looked at me as though I had lost my mind.
"Alright, enough celebrating, let's run laps." Dimitri said.
We went up to the second-floor track and ran a few warmup laps, then Dimitri explained that we were going to run two normal laps then sprint two laps until we finished 20 laps. The one thing I loved about Dimitri teaching was he was always right there working out with us instead of watching from the sideline. He would stop if we needed to adjust our workout technique, but otherwise he was right there with us.
By the time we finished running, I was drenched with sweat. While I knew Dimitri was doing this for our protection, I knew these next few weeks were going to be hell.
Our group went to the weight room, Dimitri and Yuri spotted each other and Celeste, Vika and I spotted each other. Dimitri started writing on the white board our weight and repetition number, so that we could increase each day.
Next, we went to the mats, Vika and I immediately collapsed to the ground. I had forgotten that Dimitri used to workout with me at St Vlad's, but then he would always do his own workout later.
"No, off the floor" Dimitri started "You'll feel worse, walk around a little." He went to the refrigerator and pulled out some Gatorade for all of us. "Sip it slowly" he said as he handed the bottles to Vika and me. "If you gulp it down at this intensity, you'll throw it right back up."
Dimitri gave us a five-minute break and then gathered us back to the mats and showed Vika and I two new moves. Once he felt that we had it down, we practiced it against Matt, Celeste and Yuri.
We split into our normal pairs and started sparing. Sadly, Dimitri owned me every time and I think it was the same for Vika with Matt, but we had just completed a much more intense workout than normal. Once we were finished, Celeste led us in a yoga style stretch and cool down that felt so good.
We went back to our rooms, showered, had dinner and then I told Dimitri that I wanted to check on Lissa. We walked over to the cottage her and Christian were staying in silence. I didn't know what to expect when Dimitri and I got there, but Mark and Oksana must have landed by now. I knocked on the door and one of the guardians let us in.
Lissa was on the couch looking like she was sleeping. Christian had her head in his lap and was softly running his fingers through her hair. I don't think I had ever seen him so scared. Baba, Pavel, Mark and Oksana were all there as well. Baba motioned for us to follow him and Pavel to the kitchen.
"Oksana thinks it would be a good idea to let Lissa rest tonight and keep her sedated and then in the morning, the doctor will slowly decrease her sedation and try to get some answers." Baba informed me.
"Is there anything I can do?" I asked.
"Not right now" Baba said. "Why don't you go get some rest, Novice Castile should be here around 4 am."
I nodded and Dimitri said "Keep us informed" and he led me out of the cottage and we headed back to our room. Fatigue was starting to set in from the day's events plus our intense workout and I knew Dimitri could tell.
"Come on, let's get some rest" Dimitri suggested. I nodded and once we reached our room, I just started shredding my clothes and climbed into bed without even brushing my teeth or washing my face.
I could hear Dimitri chuckling to himself as I was vaguely aware that he was picking up my clothes off the floor. I barely registered him climbing into bed next me and him pulling me to him.
I woke up sometime later to kisses on the back of my neck and Dimitri softly calling my name. I opened one eye to find that it was still pitch black in the room. I started to snuggle deeper under the covers when Dimitri said "Roza, it's 4 am and Eddie should be landing soon, I thought you might want to go meet the plane."
"Yes" I said as both eyes opened. Dimitri reached behind him and flicked on one of the lamps behind him on the dimmest setting but it was still too bright. I sat up and tried to look around, but I could only open one eye at a time.
I got out of bed and headed to the closet as Dimitri followed me. "Dress warmly Roza, we are in the desert, so the temperatures drop at night."
Dimitri was much faster at getting dressed than I was, mostly because I still couldn't open both eyes at once. Hey, it's no secret that I am not a morning person. Dimitri left me getting dressed and went out to the kitchen. When I finally made it out there, I noticed that Dimitri was in the kitchen and Celeste and Yuri were walking into the kitchen the same time as I was. Yuri took one look at me and laughed at my inability to still open both eyes at the same time.
Dimitri had four travel mugs out, three containing coffee and one with hot chocolate, how could you not love this man. We all headed towards the airstrip and when I noticed that Yuri and Celeste were a little bit away from us, I whispered to Dimitri "Why are Celeste and Yuri here?"
Dimitri stopped and turned me towards him allowing Celeste and Yuri to continue on. "You wouldn't remember, but Eddie had a really hard time after Spokane and Celeste and Yuri were there for him and they are worried about him since he was taken for a second time. That's why they both volunteered to mentor him, but Roza, I have to warn you, even experienced guardians sometimes don't recover from multiple strigoi kidnappings."
My eyes widened as I looked at Dimitri "I had no idea" I whispered. "I should have known; he was as much as Mason's best friend as I was."
Dimitri reached out and brushed a strand of hair behind my ear and said "All we can do, is be here for him. I think part of the reason Alberta pushed for him to come here is to lessen the pressure of being a guardian."
"Oh God, Comrade, I had no idea."
"I know, Eddie didn't want you to know, he was afraid that if you knew he was having a hard time, plus Mason's death and Lissa's darkness that it might push you over the edge." Dimitri said as he wiped a traitorous tear that fell down my face.
"I think being surrounded by guardians away from school will help him, but we will see what happens."
"Thanks Comrade" I said as I jumped into his arms.
"Don't thank me, this is all Alberta and your parents doing."
Just then we started to hear the familiar sound of a plane getting closer and closer.
Thank you for all the reviews, I love reading them and I appreciate you taking the time to read my story. I hope you are staying safe out there and being kind to one another.