Hello!
Sorry this was a tough one, with the stoty of how Rose died.
I promise, more romitri memories (rated M sometimes) coming.
Please review to tell me What you want!
Time is going slowly the afternoon as I find myself looking forward to meet with Guardian Thorne. I'm not a curious guy but something about a moroï guardian pink haired heavily tattooed girl is intriguing.
"How did it go with Guardian Thorne" Lissa asks me, walking to the little coffee shop next to her place. She seems tired today and a little pale, and that's not an easy thing, being one of the most pale moroi I know. That's one of the attribute that gives her that angelic royal appearance with a platinum blond hair.
"Are you ok? Do you want to stop by the feeders? You seem tired."
"Yes good idea. I do feel a bit off today."
"Too much noon exercise maybe"
"Dimitri! So unlike you" she giggles, blushing a bit. There. That's better, a slight color on her cheeks.
"You look better with a bit of color on your face and I succeed. I have no regrets" laughing lightly as we make our detour by the feeder's room.
As The Queen gets her blood, I stand in front of the room waiting.
"Oh Guardian Belikov, hum, Dimitri, still available to show me around today?"
Gaurdian Thorne emerges from my right, her brother following.
"Yes of course, I can join you when the Queen is safe and sound with Lord Ozera. Maybe we could meet at the coffee shop? Around 7? "
"Ok, perfect. That's a date. "She goes, bright smile on her face, pink pony tail bouncing at each step showing her promise mark.
That's the moment Lissa chose to step out of the room "A date?" she looks up at me with a question mark all over her face.
"Yes, no, yes, actually, that was Guardian Thorne. I'll show her around later and we just agreed to meet at 7. That's it."
"Nice. Perfect. I'll stay in with Christian tonight so you won't be worried. Anyway, I'm so tired I never intended to do anything else. Do I look better?"
"Perfect Your Majesty, as always"
"Oh stop it, you're the one who told me ten minutes ago I looked like crap."
"I wouldn't dare, I said you looked a bit tired. A bit like… No, Nevermind. "I say as I realize the last time Lissa looked tired and pale. It was three years ago, it lasted 9 months and resulted on the adorable little Alice, my lovely goddaughter. I smile as we go back to the private apartments of the Palace. I can be wrong but I have quite a good feeling on this. Spirit always kept Lissa in an excellent physical state, exception made for when she uses too much spirit.
At 7, I leave her with Chirstian after checking twice the guardians on duty tonight on every door possible and remind them I'm on speed dial on every phone around.
I never feel good leaving them but even I have to admit that after the big deadly Strigoï attack four years ago, security is on max level in every way. Outside wards, two more new inside wards, unbreakable glass all around the place, two guardians in front of every door leading to their room. I guess I can take time to show our guests around.
"Hey Belikov, I think Al is looking for you!" Anton is shouting to me from across the lawn.
"Al?"
"Guardian Thorne"
'Then it' Guardian Thorne. You should address her with respect Anton"
"She's the one telling us to call her Al. In Europe they seem to be less formal. "
"Well, we are not in Europe are we?" I hissed before ignoring him. Guardian Anton Steele is one of the guardians I distrust most. He's never really been confronted to a strigoi, he keeps cocking around like a fucking rooster and I know he makes the most disrespectful comments on women. The less of him, the best for me. He has been moved here after the attack to replenish our numbers but I don't trust him one bit.
I can spot Guardian Thorne at the coffee shop from afar, her bright pink hair swirling around as she grabs her mug.
"Hi Dimitri" she says as I step inside, "how was your day? Do you want anything?"
"It's ok, I shouldn't drink coffee at this time, sleep is not a good friend of mine so let's keep caffeine away"
"Chocolate? I don't drink coffee actually. I think it tastes awful. My brother can drink 2 liters of it every day and I can't stand his breath. I think it's disgusting. I know that Guardians are supposed to live on coffee but I just can't. But it is always a good time for chocolate. Or tea."
"I'm fine , thank you, I'll pass on this one. It was more a place to meet than anything"
"Ok, your bad"
She smiles and take a sip on her mug, obviously way too hot as she yells "et merde putain fait chier" (fuck fucking fuck if you want an approximate translation)
" Hey, I got that. French swear words" I laugh what makes her blushing.
"Sorry, I usually take care not to swear too much but it comes out without warning. I thought nobody could understand here. It's a not very elegant thing but I can't help it."
"All I will say is that I'm lucky people don't get Russian around here." I can feel my heart tightening at the thought of another swearing girl who I tried to teach self-control to. She never managed very well to control of her mouth, despite everything I tried. I had to be careful with my words around her, she was learning Russian and Rose had a gift for reminding all the insults and none of the grammar. How strange.
I quickly dismiss the sorrow of my face and but a more guardian mask on.
"Ok let's go?"
"Yep, I follow you"
"Your brother is not here?"
"No, he's tired. He's a heavy sleeper. I get to get a lot of free time when we're in a place safe like here. If he's not in a meeting he works in his room. He likes it quiet and without me. I can stand twelve hours in an official meeting or party but I can't stand to watch him read stuff on his computer more than 5 minutes. So he says I distract him. "
"Yeah, I understand. I don't mind watching Lissa working. I've got a whole world in my mind. "I usually think about Rose and drift in the sea of my memories at those times. I cling to them as a drowning man. I know I shouldn't but I'm so scared that one day, I might forget her face, her smell, her piercing eyes and her messy curls. Damn Dimitri, you're melancholic today.
"My god, you wouldn't want to be in my mind for a minute! It is exhausting believe me" She's laughing genuinely. This girl seems to be such an easy going girl. "Well let's go."
" Do you have a colored umbrella like the tourist guides I saw in Rome? "she grins as she mocks me a bit.
"Am I not tall enough? Are you afraid to lose sight?"
We go around Court for two hours. From guardians headquarters to the Palace, from restaurants to the spa. She's really interested in security.
"I can't get my mind around the Strigoï attack. How could they get through such a high level of security?"
"They had insiders." I remind the day perfectly. The most awful day of my life. I don't think I'll ever forget it. We were just beginning the Moroï day. It was 9, Rose was with Lissa at the Moroï council. I was with Christian planning our visit to St Vladimir about the fighting Morois' program.
Alert went wild but way too late. They had bribed guardians and Morois. I'm way too much aware of the procedure. I developed it when I took Galina down and expend our "affair" trough the States. You threaten a guardian or a Moroi and his family. You make him pay for protection waiting to be turned. When they can't pay, they work for the "Estate". Passing by informations. It's that simple, you've got spies inside. They must have prepared this for a long time to have that much insiders. Wards when down, and more than a hundred strigoï invaded Court. They almost all died but we lost so much people. Lissa was on lockdown in less than two minutes, safe inside a panic room heavily warded with magic. Rose took by herself the three strigoï that went through every wave of guards. But that was not enough. The last one had time to rip her throat while she stabbed him. Lissa didn't' know what was going on, she didn't know Rose was dying outside of the panic room. Healing her would have been impossible but god knows she would have tried.
Chirstian and I had learned over the years to fight along. His fire was a precious weapon and gave me the advantage of a little distraction over our deadly enemy. I had needed time to accept that I couldn't put my charge in safety and fight alone but we trained. He knew where to put himself out of danger but helping me nonetheless. We went through the ending battles all over court, we were putting down the strigoi but we lost so much people in the process. Arrived to the Council Room and the panic room we were too late. I saw her bloodied body on the floor. I threw myself on the ground to contain the blood escaping her body but I knew it was too late. I felt it in my just managed to open her eyes end smile at me. I hold her tight while whispering that I loved her and would love her forever and ever and that nothing would ever happen to Lissa. I promised her that I could never forget her and repeating over and over that I loved her as I felt life leaving her. I couldn't let go of her. I vaguely remember hearing guardians taking control of the situation in my earpiece. Saying that every strigoi had been taken down and to get the Queen out of the panic room safe to her apartments but I couldn't let go of her. I didn't go better when they opened the panic room.
When Lissa saw her I think the entire court felt her gathering all the spirit of the world to bring Rose back but she was long gone. People were shouting around us but Christian was keeping everyone away from us and Rose. I knew somewhere in my mind that we were safe, there were no strigoïs anymore so I didn't have to put Lissa safe. She was. Half of the guardians alive were around us. We were safe but Rose was dead.I was clinging on her body and Lissa was crying, holding her lifeless hand. I don't really know how long we stood like this but every time someone tried to approached, I hissed and Lissa used spirit to back them away. After some more time Christian hold Lissa and took her away, still sobbing. I remember Guardian Croft telling me to let the coroners come but I couldn't. They let me wrap her in white linen and carry her to the mortuary.
I came back to myself after a moment. As I realize I am in the Court lawn, with Guardian Thorne, I fell a full bright sun over us.
"sorry"
"No, please, don't apologize. I shouldn't have brought that subject, I should have known it was a rough one for you. I'm so sorry for your loss…"
"Thank you. It was four years ago and still seem to have happened yesterday sometimes"
"Four years, ten, twenty, whatever, you'll always have lost her. It will always be painful. You seemed far in your memories, I couldn't stop you. "
I watch her smile kindly to me before turning her face to the sun. Suddenly a breeze seemed to rise.
"I'm an air user. I trained to stay a long time in the sun and this always help. Just to cool off. And I love the feeling of hair on warm skin."
Right. A Moroï in full sun. Well done Dimitri. Is it this late already?
"Let's go, it's late you must be exhausted. "
"No I'm all right actually. I took a nap so I'm not that tired. I'll stay here a bit. But you must be so go, have a good night Dimitri."
"Good night Guardian Thorne."
"Alhena. Call me Alor Alhena, not Guardian Thorne please"
"The name of a star"
She seems intrigued suddenly. "Few people know this .."
"Good night Alhena" I turn, smiling. I remember watching absent-mindedly TV on a sleepless night. It was about astronomy and Alhena is a star is the Gemini's constellation. Not as known as Castor and Pollux this is the third biggest star of the constellation.
I find myself exhausted as I walk into the private Royal's apartments. Nodding to the guardians on duty. "You have a little intruder" guardian Heiss warn me.
"Little, blond hair, blue eyes?"
"And a big fluffy bunny. She said she had something really important to tell you. So important she had to wait for you" emphasizing the really.
"I see, thank you", I scoff going straight to my room.
A little form is in my bed. Hair so blond it's almost white spread on one of my pillow. My sweet goddaughter is deep asleep, holding tight on the huge bunny I got her for her birthday. The fluffed animal is almost as big as she is actually. The image is melting my heart down. What couldn't I do for this little girl. She knows I can't refuse her anything and use it. I lay beside her as she shift, gripping my arm in her sleep and holding to it as a koala bear.
I can't say her parents like it, but she comes often sleeping in my bed. Whether I'm here or not. I don't complain, I sleep well with her little body next to mine.