Chapter 9:

DPOV

I decided to try and put in a good word for Rose with regards to the shopping trip. She deserved some fun now more than ever. I just hoped mine and Lord Dashkovs joint efforts would be enough.

I walked into Headmistress Kirova's office and she and Guardian Petrov were there expecting me. Alberta always seemed to be there when Rose was discussed. I knew she had a soft spot for Rose and I imagine she tried to be a buffer between Rose and Kirova. I honestly didn't understand Kirova's disdain for Rose. Yes, she was a handful, but you couldn't help but be drawn in by her charm.

Maybe I was biased.

"Headmistress, thank you for seeing me."

She hardly looked up from her papers. She didn't seem to care that I was there.

"What can I do for you today, Guardian Belikov?"

Still not looking at me. Okay, I suppose she just needed to hear me and not see me, but it was common courtesy. Something she was obviously lacking when dealing with Guardians. I was glad I got to leave this place when Vasilissa graduated. I think otherwise Kirova and I would have a problem.

"I have been informed that the Princess will be leaving for an off campus trip. I would like to ask for permission to take Rose along for this as well."

That got her attention and she looked up at me. Her sharp eyes took me in. I knew she would be hard to convince. She seemed adamant to keep punishing Rose, she seemed to take some pleasure from it.

"Guardian Belikov, I don't see how a shopping trip is in any way appropriate for someone who is still under punishment."

Ah, I thought about this. I knew Headmistress Kirova would never agree to have her just go. And her mentor asking her would be considered inappropriate. God if they only knew. So I had come with a different strategy. Rose would not like it very much but at least she would be able to go and get off campus.

"I was not asking her to join the shopping, I was asking if she can come along as a trainee. She needs to learn how to protect the princess in public spaces and how pair guarding works. I have a feeling this will not be the last mall the Princess will visit. This shopping trip will be a training exercise for her, not a social event."

Alberta gave me a funny look to see if I was asking this for the right reasons.

"Oh Ellen, let her join. She has shown nothing but exemplary behavior since she has been back, and as Guardian Belikov stated, this could be a very valuable lesson. I am sure Guardian Belikov will keep an eye on her so that she doesn't go shopping but does her job. Plus I will be one of the guardians going along for the trip. I'll ensure she doesn't have too much fun."

Maybe this is how they function together. One is too strict for Rose and the other too soft, balancing each other out. Maybe it was the same with all Dhampir students.

I saw the wheels turning in headmistress Kirova's head. She was contemplating what would be a better punishment. Not letting her go or let her go but not actually being allowed to shop. I knew both me and Alberta would ensure that Rose at least got to let loose some. I would assign Rose as near guard that way she could go into all the stores and keep a close eye on Lissa. She wouldn't actually get to try on anything but at least she could join the girls in their fun.

She must have settled on the latter option because she did eventually agree. She sounded like she was making a big sacrifice but I could see the smirk pulling at her lips. She was enjoying this.

RPOV

A few days and another dead animal later we were on our way to the mall. I had told Dimitri about the dead rabbit and calmed Lissa down. She was less upset than the first time. I talked to Lissa about my theory that someone was testing her and that I will keep a close eye on her.

I did not, however, tell her just how much Dimitri knew. She would freak out. I trusted Dimitri with my life and hers, but I knew Lissa did not have the same connection. It would take time for her to trust Dimitri.

But I was glad that today at least would not revolve around dead animals or even school. No, today we would be going shopping. Well, they would be shopping. I would be guarding them. I guess it was the only way they would let me go. I smelled Dimitri's hand in this and for that I was grateful.

We piled into the cars. Victor, Natalie, Lissa and a few other royal girls were along for the trip. So this meant there would be a horde of guardians coming along for the ride. There were Victor's personal guards, as well as some school guardians, which I guess, included me at the moment.

Natalie and Lissa sat next to each other and I sat a row back behind Lissa. Dimitri joined me there in the backseat.

"I know this is not what you wanted but it is better than nothing. So let's go over the rules for today. Today you will be pair guarding. I will function as far guard and you will be Vasilisa's near guard."

I saw Lissa look at Dimitri funny when he called her Vasilisa. I keep telling him to call her Lissa, but he doesn't seem to want to butch. He even now and then refers to her as the Princess. Not when she is around, he knew she would chastise him for it. But in official settings, he would say it to others. At least he isn't reciting her full name and title every time he talks about her. That is like two lines long. I guess we would have to pick our battles on that one.

"I think me being near guard is a good strategic move. I mean you would look rather silly if not a little creepy hanging so close to teenage girls."

I laughed, Dimitri sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He tended to do that a lot when I was around. He took a deep breath before continuing.

"You will be wearing an earpiece to communicate with me and the other guardians. But your main focus is on Lissa and communicating with me directly. You can join them in the shopping to look as natural as possible, but you cannot leave their side for an instant, meaning you cannot go into the dressing stall to try on clothes."

Now it was my time to sigh.

"Here, just in case. I am sure you know how to handle one of these."

Dimitri handed me a stake. Actually, I had no idea on how to handle a stake. I had used weapons in my Strigoi fights, but this was mostly whatever I could get my hands on, on the black market. Knives and swords mostly. It isn't that easy to come by a silver stake infused by vampire magic on the human black market. Who would have thought?

"Pointy end goes into the bad guy?"

Dimitri chuckled at this.

"Remind me to start on stake training tomorrow."

The rest of the trip was spent in silence. I put my iPod on and started to stare outside the window. We were leaving during daylight hours because it would diminish the chance of Strigoi. This did mean we were going during our night time. Usually, we were asleep right now. I decided to try and take a nap. It was a long way to the mall.

When we got there, we divided the group into teams and started shopping. Natalie, Lissa and I were in one group. We were escorted by Dimitri and two of Victor's guardians. Dimitri and the two other Guardians stayed at a distance while I stayed close to the girls.

Lissa was dragging me into store after store. I could feel how excited she got over each and every item she was holding. In an hours' time, Lissa and Natalie had already piled on the bags. Of course, they were not the ones holding the bags. Most of the bags were carried by Victor's Guardians. Occasionally one would go back to the vans to drop some bags off.

I occasionally looked back around to Dimitri, signaling they were all right. He had his guardian mask on and was signaling back that the coast was clear. I could see though that he was bored out of his mind.

We went into another store and Lissa started pulling dresses for me. She was holding up dress after dress, placing it on my body to see if it would fit or look good. I didn't even have time to agree or disagree before she would pick another one.

"Oh, Rose how about this one. This one would look great on you."

I looked at the dress noting the low back. I loved it, but it wouldn't work for me.

"I can't wear that one Lissa, the back is too exposed."

She looked at me confused for a moment.

"Since when are you that modest. Oh right yeah, forgot about that. But they are already a lot lighter than they were. Maybe with a few more sessions, they will be gone?"

She said the last bits quite so Natalie wouldn't hear. I loved the dress she was holding up but it would expose my scars. Lissa had been healing my scars. I didn't want her to expend too much magic, but she also said that keeping it bottled up was making her feel restless too. So she healed me bit by bit. We were walking a fine line between going insane for not using her magic and using too much.

"How about this one."

Lissa was holding up a black dress, It had thick slightly off the shoulder straps and the back had a small V, but covering most of my back. My hair could conceal the rest. I could use some concealer for the rest of the scars on my arms. There weren't that many there. The front was a deeper V and would show off a good amount of cleavage. The dress would reach a few inches above my knee. Elegant but damn sexy. I really did like this dress. And Lissa could see it too.

"Why don't you try it on?"

"I can't Liss, I am not supposed to leave you guys for one second."

She had forgotten that part too. She was so caught up in this shopping. It was good for her to have fun and forget about all the things we had to deal with. I, on the other hand, couldn't forget.

She shrugged. "Oh, Okay then we will just buy it as is."

She placed the dress over my body as a way of measuring and deemed it to fit enough to spend that much money on. I knew I did not have to feel guilty when Lissa bought me things but still, that was an expensive dress.

"Now to find us all shoes."

I rolled my eyes. "Liss, you already bought 4 pairs of shoes."

She placed her hands on her hips defying me.

"Yes, but not ones that match my dress." as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She was enjoying every minute of this. I think the school would have to build her a bigger room to hold all her new clothes in.

When we were done with dresses and shoes we walked a little slower and started to browse for things we really didn't need. Because apparently what he had bought before had all been necessities.

We walked past a jewelry store and I couldn't help but stop and stare. I saw the most amazing necklace in the window. Lissa nearly bumped into me. I usually stayed away from anything associated with roses, but this necklace was something else. It would look great with my new dress. That was until I noticed the price. I didn't mind Lissa spoiling me a little, but I had my limits, and this necklace was definitely over that limit.

So I walked away but gave it a lingering stare. I really didn't have much jewelry. Maybe I could borrow some of Lissa's for the dance.

We finished buying all the stuff we needed for the dance and a lot more stuff we did not need. Lissa also got me some new training outfits, a few shirts and sweaters and a good amount of lingerie. She always liked dressing me up. Especially in lingerie. I think it was a living vicariously thing. Lissa's skin was very pale and her cup size was not that big. So she was mostly left with the pastel colored run in the middle bras and panties. But with my body and almond skin, she could put me in the nicest things at Victoria's secret. The bright colors, the sexy stuff. I also got some sports bras just to balance it out. But I must admit I loved looking sexy, even if it was just for me. It was empowering. I appreciated some new stuff. My underwear drawer was full of old and run down pieces and certainly not anything as sexy as Lissa and I had bought. Besides some of my bras I had since I was fifteen and they started to become a little tight. Okay a lot tight.

Dimitri and Victor's Guardians hadn't entered the lingerie store with us. Dimitri had asked me if it was really necessary because it would look weird if they followed. I had discussed it with Lissa but she had waived Dimitri off, saying I was with them and we only would be a minute. He had been very uncomfortable about it I could tell. Not just because we were going into the store, but also because he was starting to realise this may become a regular thing. He was the sanctioned Guardian of a teenage girl after all. He had iterated to me that I would need to check all the exits in the store making sure nobody could enter except through the entrance they would be monitoring and that I would need to alert them at the slightest irregularity. Also I would need to give an update report every two minutes.

After the third update I might have mentioned that Lissa was safe trying on a cream colored Demi bra. I also went into great detail about the matching panty and was about to delve into my own selection when Dimtiri had gotten the message and disconnected.

I laughed. I would have to use that trick more often. I understood it was hard for him not to know where his charge was, but damn. I had kept her safe for two years, I could do half an hour in a store in a busy mall.

We exited the store and the look on Dimitri's face was priceless when he realised I had bags of my own. I suppose he wasn't over me yet either. Maybe I would let one of the sexy bras fall out of the bag 'accidentally', so he would know I didn't just buy sensible sports bras.

We were finally done. My feet were starting to hurt and I was getting hungry. The plan was to eat something and then turn back towards the school. It would be a long ride back.

We walked towards the food court, I joined Dimitri and a few other guardians and saw visible signs of relief on their faces. I suppose I wasn't the only one who was glad we were done. I guess shopping was very tiring for guardians, especially the males.

But all that could be fixed with food. I was starving and ready to devour a whole pizza or donut shop, or both. But the grumbling in my stomach was replaced with another feeling I knew all too well, blocking out the hunger and revitalizing my tired body. I felt a wave of nausea hit me. Dimitri and I were the last of the group so when I stopped dead in my tracks nobody but Dimitri noticed.

"Roza, what is wrong?"

"Strigoi."

I turned around and started sprinting in the direction I felt the nausea come from. It seemed to be coming from beneath me. The basement? There were Strigoi in the basement. They had to be, they couldn't walk here in the sunlight. It was filtered through the glass ceilings, so the Moroi were largely unaffected, but Strigoi would still go up in smoke. So they would have to take cover during day-light hours. Based on the intensity of the nausea I would say two or three. Nothing I could not handle. And I had to handle this. I couldn't let some of these poor humans fall prey to these Strigoi if they were still here after the sun had set.

DPOV

"Strigoi."

She turned around and I saw her running away from me and in the direction she probably felt them. It took me a second to comprehend the situation and then I was pissed. What? She couldn't wait for me to join her? I looked around at the other guardians, they were in conversations and had taken up defensive positions around the Moroi. They were safe. So I followed Rose, hoping no one would be missing us anytime soon.

There were a few turns where I did not know where she went but I eventually caught up to her. It wasn't Rose perce I was tracking anymore. It was the smell of blood in the air that had led me to her.

She was in the basement.

A smart place for Strigoi to hide. No sunlight and you could just drag victims off into the basement to finish them off. But these Strigoi won't be doing any of this anymore.

Rose was standing in the middle of the hallway with bodies at her feet. Her arms were covered in blood and some had made it onto her face and shirt. She was holding the stake I had given her at her side, also covered in blood. The look in her eyes was vacant.

The bodies at her feet were torn apart. Their chest cavities were just gaping holes of blood. I wondered if Rose just had a hard time finding the heart so had to make several attempts or if it was a result of the darkness. It also made me wonder if this was how bloody she was with a weapon to efficiently and effectively kill Strigoi, how bloody had her other battles been.

I slowly approached her, careful not to make any sudden moves. I did not know if she was still under the effects of the darkness. Rose did not seem to register that I was there. Rose did not seem to register anything. I closed in to about a few inches and touched the hand holding the stake, slowly taking it from her grasp and placing it back into the hilt at my sides, after I had rid it of some of the blood.

"Roza?"

I moved my hands from her hands up her shoulders and started to touch her cheek turning her head so she was looking in my eyes. My other hand brushing her long hair away from her shoulders. I was very close to her and I could feel her breathing against me. It was the only sign she was still alive, that and the fact she was standing. But the look in her eyes was… dead and dark.

"Roza?"

She blinked a few times and I saw her coming back to herself, My hand never leaving her face. We just stood there for a while looking at each other. Taking in the other person. I felt like I was keeping her grounded and did not want to move away. Even covered in blood she looked beautiful. Her big brown eyes staring straight into mine. There was something oddly fitting with Rose covered in blood. In a strange way, it suited her. Rose was a warrior through and through and this is where she was at home. I just kept stroking her hair and her face until she had calmed down completely and her breathing was back to normal. We were in our own little world until Alberta screeched in my headpiece.

"Belikov, where are you and Rose?"

I could hear the annoyance in her voice. Almost an accusatory tone. What the hell did she think I was doing with or to Rose?

I touched the earpiece activating the comlink again. I had turned it off when I went after Rose.

"Guardian Petrov, someone spilled a drink on Rose, I just took her to the bathroom so she could get cleaned up. We will be there shortly."

I disconnected the line and started to move Rose towards one of the sinks in the basement. I took an old rag and started to clean up some of the blood on Rose's hands, arms and face.

"Quick thinking," Rose said. Good, she sounded like herself again.

"This way no one will question why you are wearing some of your new clothes. I'll be right back. I have to get them. Try and clean most of the blood off."

I walked back upstairs and took one of the bags with some of Rose's new clothes in it. I walked back into the basement quickly, handed Rose the clothes and went to dispose of the Strigoi bodies. There was still a sliver of sunlight outside so I dragged them through a maintenance entrance and let them burn in the sun. I didn't want the Alchemists involved in this. There would be too many questions.

I walked back inside, just in time to see Rose take off her bloody shirt and putting the new one on. Even given the circumstances, I could appreciate Rose's exposed skin. And her black lace bra. I was thinking back to her walking out of the lingerie store. Rose clearly had a bag of her own. What did she buy?

I had been tempted to stay on the line when she was starting to describe what Lissa had gotten for her. I wanted to defy Rose knowing full well she didn't do it as a status update but to annoy me for having her check in so many times. I didn't want to give in into her juvenile behaviour. I also wanted to know what she had bought. The Princess commenting on Rose not fitting into her old stuff was also not helping get rid of the image of Rose in lingerie.

But in the end I think it was better I didn't know. Less food for my nightly dreams of her.

Rose looked around and walked towards me. All finished. We threw away her old clothes and headed back upstairs in silence.

Rose joined the others and said to Alberta in a very Rose fashion.

"Some idiot dumped his entire strawberry slushy on me when he walked into me. I swear I could have killed him. Good thing Lissa had bought me some new stuff. The old stuff is ruined, and I really liked that shirt."

I had to hand to Rose, she was a quick thinker too. If there were still any trace of blood on her, people would just mistake this for the red slushy. The cleaning products and the new smell of her clothes would hide the scent of lingering blood. Also, nobody would question her story when she used so much Rose bravado. I thought the whining over a lost shirt at the end really sold it. Sometimes I was a little scared of how easily lying came to her and how often she was believed.

We quickly grabbed a bite and headed back towards the cars.

The ride back to the Academy was quiet. I could feel Rose next to me starting to drift off. She must be exhausted, not just from the shopping, but from the battle too. At least she was able to burn off some of the darkness.

She fell asleep on my shoulder, her body close to me. I draped my duster over her to keep her warm and just stared out of the car until we reached the Academy. Her sleeping against me like that felt so natural. How come something so wrong, could feel so right?