Chapter 46:
DPOV
That afternoon the four of us went to the meeting with Guardian Croft. I was nervous. Rose didn't seem to share the same feelings maybe because she would be judged as the victim, although if anybody knew Rose they would see how ridiculous it was. I never regretted being with Rose and I never will. But I didn't like the fact that people would shame our relationship. We did nothing wrong.
When we entered the room I was surprised to see Guardian Alto and Alberta were there as well. Oh, this was not good.
The four of us sat down not betraying anything.
"Alright. Miss Hathaway."
Oh I saw her bite her tongue. But luckily Rose remained quiet this time.
"Oh sorry I read it's Mrs. now."
Rose just nodded and I saw Alberta raise an eyebrow at me. Stan seemed confused.
"We are to discuss how and if we can find a way to let you graduate. I have asked two teachers of yours to come and explain if they think you were on your way to graduation before… the incident."
"Oh for God sake, would people just stop with the euphemisms. I died. I got turned. It was horrible, let's move on."
I saw Hans and Stan just stare at Rose. I expected the answer although I was a bit surprised Rose knew the word euphemism.
"Very well. I'll ask your teachers, including Guardian Belikov if they believed if you would have graduated. Guardian Petrov if you will."
I saw Alberta nod.
"I do believe Rose was well on her way to graduation. Thanks to her own efforts and Guardian Belikovs guidance she had top marks in her combat classes. Even in her academic classes she was catching up."
Hans nodded.
"Guardian Alto?"
"I have known Rose for almost her entire life. She was four when she entered my class. I must honestly say she is one of the most difficult students I have ever had."
Both Rose and I held our breaths. Stan could make or break her here. He was always very hard on Rose. I just hoped he wasn't now.
"But she is also one of the most talented. I tried teaching her discipline and humility because I know she will be one of the greatest. But she needs to keep a level head."
I saw Rose gawking at him. She always thought Stan had it in for her, but in truth he was being hard on her to make her better. I appreciated that.
"But please let her graduate here and don't send her back to the academy. I swear I aged twice as fast after having Rose in my class. I don't think I can do it anymore."
And there it was. Luckily the overall sentiment was to have her graduate. I saw Hans raise an eyebrow at Stan and I saw a huge grin come across Rose's face. I simply pinched the bridge of my nose. This wasn't something you should be proud of. But Rose practically saw it as a victory. She broke the poor man.
I had seen Rose's very large file on his desk so I knew Hans knew about most of her… transgressions. I knew it was a daunting file, certainly if you didn't know Rose.
"Guardian Belikov, I know your time with Rose was significantly less then guardian Alto's or guardian Petrovs but I know you spend a lot of quality time with her."
Oh his double meaning wasn't lost on me. I suppose we did have another conversation coming after this one. But my guardian mask was firmly in place.
"I collected Rose and the princess from Portland. I had read Rose's file and was honestly expecting something completely different. What I saw was a girl that was rash and clearly behind in training but still willing to take on 12 highly trained guardians to keep her friend and her charge safe. It was that dedication that prompted me to volunteer to mentor her when she faced expulsion. She may have been lacking technique back then but she had a sense of duty well beyond her years. Also her fighting instincts were the best I had ever seen, all I needed to do was teach her technique and control."
Hans lifted his eyebrows at me, as if suggesting I might have thought those things in other areas than just fighting. Although why would I ever teach her control in the bedroom? No, the less control the better. I almost thought he found it amusing that we were all beating around the bush about our personal relationship. He was driving me into a corner and he enjoyed it.
"I believe Rose to be ready to be a guardian, she has been for some time."
"Very well. I will come up with some sort of final exam and if she passes, we can have her promised. She will have to complete her academic classes as well. Now let's move on to the next item on the list."
My heart sank. I hoped he would simply leave it at that. Or at least have Alberta and Stan excused, but he kept them there. There to watch us grovel, no doubt.
"The fact that you married your barely eighteen year old student."
I saw Alberta look between the two of us and Stan practically fell off his seat.
Hans was not perturbed by their reaction and continued.
"I am here to decipher if anything inappropriate was going on at the academy and whether or not you or your parents want to press charges." He said looking at Rose.
Great, that is why he called Janine and Abe here. Although I knew Rose would never press charges, her parents were another matter. I saw Abe looking at me and I was actually sweating.
"Now Mrs. Hathaway, please tell me what happened between you and Guardian Belikov, how did you end up marrying him."
I saw Rose take a deep breath. I was suddenly scared. I had no idea what she was going to say. She said she had it covered but how. The timing was too conspicuous.
"I suppose there has always been a level of attraction between Dimitri and I. I think that was why we worked so well together, we understood each other in a way no one else could. At first I thought I just had a silly crush, and that he could never feel the same way. But after a while I understood that wasn't the case."
Those had been a couple of very hard weeks. Knowing she felt the same, but where we thought we could never act on it. I saw the pain in her eyes too, when she was remembering.
"But neither of us was willing or was able to acknowledge our feelings for one another to their full extent. Not just because of our age difference or because he was in a position of power, but because we were both Lissa's guardians. Our involvement with one another would endanger her. So it was a silent agreement between the two of us that whatever we felt for each other, we buried it deep. It wasn't easy. At least from my side. But it was for the best."
She was so convincing. Maybe because it was very close to the truth.
"After I turned things were different. Being Strigoi meant being the worst part of yourself. I resented Lissa for standing between me and Dimitri and I was obsessed with Dimitri. When I was turned back Dimitri was all that kept me sane. He was the one that was able to bring me back. Only he could have too. After I was recuperating from my trauma we went to St. Petersburg. In kind of a spur of the moment thing he proposed and the next day, we were married. Life was too short and fragile not to go after what you want. He was no longer my mentor and I was no longer his student. I didn't know if I would ever be a guardian again and he was now Adrian's guardian so there really wasn't any reason to stay away from each other anymore."
Hans looked at Rose and Rose gave nothing away that she was lying. And lying she was, through her teeth. I didn't know what was more disturbing, My own anxiety to see if Hans had bought it, if Alberta would stay quiet, Janine's obvious disapproval of lying to the head guardian or the sheer look of absolute pride on Abe's face at the amount of bullshit his daughter could sell with a straight face.
"I have asked your teachers about this before and they claimed to have no knowledge of anything inappropriate. You expect me to believe that you married each other a few weeks after you were turned back?"
Rose didn't flinch.
"There is no evidence to suggest otherwise."
And that was it. Hans knew she was lying. Rose all but admitted it. But there was nothing he could do about it and he knew it. So did Rose. I swear the smile on Abe's face only got bigger. This was bold of Rose but it showed that she wouldn't back down and that she held the power here. She stared him down and Hans reluctantly admitted defeat.
"Very well then. I will contact you again when I have scheduled your exams."
As we exited the room Hans put his hand on my shoulder.
"Good luck with that one, rather you than me."
Why did everyone keep saying that to me?