Chapter Eleven - Actions Have Consequences

I rolled over with a quiet groan, a hand instantly going to the side of my head. It wasn't the worst hangover pain I'd ever experienced, but that didn't mean it didn't suck. I opened my eyes to a squint, sighing in relief when I saw the curtains were still shut, blocking out any sunlight that could further worsen my headache. The space beside me in the bed was empty, I noticed, but there was a small note left on the pillow.

Thought you might of had a hangover so you might appreciate the lie-in.
Water and painkillers are on the side. I love you,
Dimitri.

I smiled at the sentiment of my man looking after me at all hours of the day, taking the note and placing it into the top drawer on my side of the bed for safe keeping. Sure enough, on top was a glass half full of water with two small tablets next to it. I sat myself up before taking the two pills, snapping them in half before downing them half at a time with a sip of water. You'd think the amount of times I'd been in the infirmary and had to take tablets that I'd be used to it - but nope, still hated them.

I downed the rest of the water before leaving the empty glass on the side, throwing the covers off of me to stand up. The blood rushed to my head and I found myself grabbing the wall to steady myself for a moment, though the dizziness soon faded. I blinked a couple times to make sure my vision was alright before heading to 'my' bedroom to change into some comfortable pyjamas.

It was all quiet in the dorm as I entered the living room, seeing the curtains were still drawn again but the lights were on. Dimitri was stood leaning against the wall besides the window with his arms folded, looking towards where a rather embarrassed looking Viktoria sat on the sofa. He looked up at the sound of me entering, as did Vik, and gave me a hesitant smile as he stepped towards me.

"Morning, Malýshka. How are you feeling?" He asked comfortingly, running a hand up and down my arm. I shrugged with a smile.

"Bit of a headache, but otherwise fine." I leaned onto my tiptoes and gave him a soft peck on the lips before heading towards the fridge in the kitchen, immediately opening it up and scowering for some quick and easy food I could eat for breakfast. "Do we have any food? I'm starving."

Dimitri chuckled softly, squeezing his way past me to grab something out of one of the cupboards. He placed two paper bags in front of him and unwrapped them, one unveiling a small see-through container with what looked like pancakes in it, the other with some sort of bread and meat. "I brought some food over for you from breakfast. I figured you'd be hungry when you woke."

"You know me so well, Comrade." I smiled angelically at him as I opened up both the containers. The pancakes - which Dimitri had informed me were actually called Blini - were served with some jam on top and had a filling of cottage cheese. They were absolutely to die for, though Viktoria had told me that her mother's were better. I promised to try them out, if and when I met her. She also called the bread and meat dish the Russian equivalent of a sandwich, the type of meat being called kolbasa. The dish was cold, but nice, and tasted exactly like a normal bread and meat dish would.

I hummed with satisfaction once I'd finished pretty much everything off, stacking the two containers up and putting it to the side of the island where I was sat. Dimitri had sat himself opposite me, while Viktoria had remained on the sofa while the three of us barely talked as I ate. I dabbed at my mouth with some kitchen towel before bunching it up and looking pointedly between the two Belikov's. "What's up with you two? I can sense the awkwardness in the air."

Dimitri turned to look at his little sister almost scathingly, and I narrowed my eyes at him as I wondered what she could have done to warrant such a response. Viktoria got to her feet slowly and made her way over to where we were both sat, taking a seat besides me all the while refusing to look her brother in the eye.

"I was worried about you last night." She said genuinely, a hint of an apology in her eyes. "You were gone, to say the least. What do you even remember?"

I opened my mouth hesitantly, looking up to Dimitri warily. He seemed to be gauging my reaction carefully, which suggested he already knew more than I would have thought. Truth be told I remember everything that happened the previous night - from Kai setting fire to that Moroi, to Viktoria crump dancing with Katya, to my unfortunate run in with Feliks. I knew I would have to tell Dimitri what happened with the latter, but I wanted to stall for as long as I could.

"Pretty much everything." I nodded, turning back to her. "I know I was pretty drunk, but I was still aware of everything. I guess I've just got a high alcohol tolerance." I laughed nervously, hoping neither of them picked up on my hesitancy.

Viktoria seemed unconvinced as she bit her lower lip, continuing to speak. "Well, Kai and I were really concerned that you might've gotten yourself hurt while walking back to your dorm, so he offered to catch up with you and guide you back. He was gone for ages, and when he came back he was really spooked." Her eyes widened suggestively as she said 'spooked', silently conveying to me that he had told her everything that had gone down.

I swallowed, looking down at my hands almost ashamedly. "I came here this morning to make sure you were okay, and Kai wanted me to bring you back your shoes." She nodded towards where my boots were sat at the end of the sofa, and I remembered having dropped them when Feliks attacked me. "I thought you would have told Dimka already. I started telling him about how drunk you were, and when he started asking concerned questions I realised you hadn't had the opportunity to talk to him yet." She glanced up sideways at her older brother, though he didn't notice. "He asked what else happened and I told him that it wasn't my place to say. We've been waiting for you to wake up for the past half hour."

I rested my elbows on the island and placed my chin on my fists, looking up at Dimitri with a worried look. "If I tell you everything that happened, you have to promise me not to hit the roof. Okay?" I could see Dimitri's jaw clench and unclench as he gave me a stern look, clearly not approving of my words. Having to put a disclaimer out on it was just an alarm that something bad went down, and knowing Dimitri he wouldn't let anybody get away with it. "Promise me, Comrade." I insisted a little firmer, taking one of his hands in both of mine. He sighed deeply, before nodding.

And so I told him everything. I told him about Feliks offering me a drink from the get go, and how I didn't realise until afterwards that he had drugged it. I assured him I only had two drinks, and that I shouldn't of been so drunk, but it was because of him that I was. I told him - and Viktoria, since I guess she wouldn't have known - about everything Feliks said when he attacked me. From the bloodwhore comment, to the comment about Lissa and even Dimitri.

I slid down the collar of my shirt to show the pair of them the two small cut-like marks from where Feliks had bitten me, causing Viktoria to wince and Dimitri to tense up beneath my touch. They had mostly healed up due to my Dhampir healing abilities, but you could still clearly see two marks. I rubbed soothing circles on the back of his hand to calm him down as I stayed silent, then, just letting them both take everything in.

"That's when Kai showed up." I finished, covering the wound back up. "He must have thrown him off of me or something. He told him to clear off, and he did. That's when I bolted, running straight back here. I didn't want him to worry about what Feliks had said, so I figured the safest option would just to be to get the hell out of there."

"I'm gonna kill him." Dimitri growled, anger evident in his whole posture as he tensed up, glaring at no particular spot in the kitchen. I opened my mouth to say something, when he harshly turned to me - though I knew the anger wasn't directed for me. "He had no right to pass those comments about you, Roza, no matter how untrue they are. He drugged you, tried to force compulsion onto you, and attacked you. He deserves to be punished."

"And I agree-" I quickly jumped in, cupping his face on either side and forcing him to look at me. "But hurting him isn't going to help anybody. You promised me not to freak out, remember? That means you can't kill him, hurt him, or even go near him."

"Are you listening to yourself, Roza?" He gingerly took my hands off his face but kept them held loosely in his, looking sadly into my eyes. "He hurt you. How can you let him get away with this?"

"I'm not!" I defended, my voice raising an octave higher through my desperation. "I agree that he needs to be punished, but he doesn't need to be pummeled to death. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." I quoted with an 'I told you so' expression, seeing his features slowly beginning to soften as logic and reason begun to set in. "If you hurt him, then you'll lose your allocation here at St Basil's. Then where would we be?"

"She's right, Dimka." Viktoria piped up with a solemn nod of her head, looking up to her big brother. "Feliks is an ass, but he's not worth losing your job over. You need to be here to protect Rose."

Dimitri seemed to sit and think that over for a minute in silence, while Viktoria and I had a silent conversation of our own. We both knew that Dimitri would do anything to protect me, but we also knew that he wasn't so stupid to risk his place here at the Academy. He just needed time to think things over before he eventually made the right decision.

"You're right," he sighed reluctantly, and I forced myself to hide the righteous smile threatening to break through. "Protecting you here at St Basil's is too important to me right now. But-" he raised his eyebrows as he took in my victorious expression. "We're going to the Headmaster about this later today, okay? I'm not letting Feliks get away completely free."

"Fine." I said instantly, knowing that compromise would be necessary. "I'll go to the Headmaster about it. Alone. If people see that I brought you with me then they'll think I snaked out the entire senior class. I promise I'll tell him everything, though."

I could see Dimitri was indifferent about that, but I changed the topic before he had a chance to argue it. "So, anybody got any plans for the rest of the day?"

The Headmaster, a Moroi by the name of Damon Elkin, was surprisingly a lot younger than I had expected. At borderline thirties, he stood almost as tall as Dimitri, with the typical slim figure that almost all Moroi possessed. He had brilliant white hair which contrasted starkly with his pure black eyes, though he was undeniably beautiful as all of their kind was.

"Novice Hathaway, please, take a seat." He smiled politely at me as he came around from his desk to lean back against the front, being far less formal than most superiors usually acted. "You seemed quite adamant to meet with me as soon as possible. Is there something wrong? Are you not enjoying your time here at St Basil's?"

"Not at all, Headmaster Elkin, I'm having a very good time here at St Basil's. I wanted to thank you for allowing me to transfer on such short notice, since I don't believe I've had the opportunity to do so yet since my arrival here."

"Nonsense," he waved his hand dismissively. "Head Guardian Petrov spoke highly of you when we conversed about your transfer. With someone of your skill at such a young age, as well as two kills already under your belt, I would have been a fool not to of taken you on here. St Basil's is honoured to have someone like you representing our school."

I nodded coyly, not wanting to seem big headed over my achievements. While I was proud of my skill and talent, I wasn't one to boast. "Now, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

As promised, I told him every single detail that he needed to know of the night's events. Unfortunately that meant I did have to say about the party, though I didn't mention names of whom was there - except for Feliks, obviously - so that nobody would get in trouble. Lucky for me, he didn't linger too much on that detail, and was evidently more concerned about the attack.

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Rose." He said solemnly with a small nod. "Non-consensual feeding and attempted compulsion are two very serious issues, and if it wasn't for the remainder of the bite marks on your neck I'm sure most people wouldn't believe you. Forgive me if I offend you, but people would be more inclined to believe Feliks than you."

I shook my head to assure him that he didn't offend me, as it was a thought that had occurred to me before. In a world where we served them, it was unlikely that anybody would believe a low-level Dhampir over any Moroi, no matter how much of a bad reputation that Moroi already had. It was the unfortunate life that we live in.

"I assure you the matter will be dealt with as appropriate. Feliks will face extreme consequences for his actions, and I will ensure that the reason for his punishment will be kept as underwrapped as possible. I understand that you may not want everyone knowing."

"Thank you, Headmaster Elkin."

Monday morning soon came about, and at breakfast I was pleased to notice the absence Feliks and the return of Sylvia and Evan. While the twins seemed completely oblivious to the awkwardness in the air, neither of them seemed to question why Feliks wasn't sitting with them anymore.

By dinnertime on Tuesday, Feliks had become completely AWOL. Kai had commented that he was pulled out of Russian 2 during their morning lesson, and hadn't returned to any of them since. I had a sneaking suspicion that he had been pulled out by the Headmaster, though I didn't voice that thought through worry that more questions would be asked.

Turns out I was right. Thursday lunch was when the rumours began to circulate that Feliks had been expelled from the Academy, but there was a thousand more about why. Some people said that he mouthed off one to many times to a Guardian, some said that he had been the perpetrator behind the fire incident with Al, though none of them knew the truth of the matter.

"It's just kind of weird, you know?" Viktoria commented from where she was sat on the chair by the desk in Dimitri and I's bedroom. We'd just finished our evening training session that same Thursday, Dimitri having skipped dinner Guarding me to go 'sort business' with Head Guardian Alexei. By the time Viktoria and I had finished up our meals, he still hadn't returned, so we decided to head back to my dorm just to chill out before curfew.

I was sat in the centre of the bed, and I looked up from the book I was reading of Get Talking Russian In Ten Days. "What's weird?"

"Feliks being gone." She clarified with a small shrug, moving from her seat to sit at the foot of the bed with her legs crossed. I dog-earred the book and placed it on Dimitri's side table, sitting up straighter as I turned back to her. "Him and Kai knew each other from before they even came to St Basil's since their parents were friends. When I became friends with Kai in Freshman year, I became friends with Feliks by default. He's been around for over three years, and it's just a little odd that he's suddenly gone."

"I get what you mean." I nodded in understanding. "I had a best friend called Mason. We knew each other since we were about four years old, and we were best friends for the longest time." I smiled affectionately at the memories I shared with my best friend. "I don't think a day went by in the past thirteen years that we didn't see each other. Aside from the two years I left the Academy, of course."

"What happened?" She asked cautiously, tilting her head to the side as she watched my reaction.

"He died." I explained, swallowing hard at the memory. "During Christmas break there was an incident with some Strigoi. It's how I got my two molnija - avenging him."

We were both silent for a moment, and I quickly wiped away the tears at the brim of my eyes before Viktoria could see me cry. I felt her shift besides me as I closed my eyes, before her hands had carefully encircled mine. "I'm sure he was an amazing person, and a brilliant friend." I looked up at her with a smile, seeing the genuine look of comfort on her face. I was thankful she hadn't given the same 'I'm sorry, he's in a better place now' speech that most people gave me when I told them about Mason.

The sound of the front door shutting interrupted either of us from saying much else, and I could hear Dimitri's heavy footsteps before he even made it into the hallway. "Roza? Are you here?"

"In the bedroom, Comrade." I called back, gesturing to the door as a motion for Viktoria and I to meet him in the living room. When we arrived, he was just shrugging off his duster and was placing it on the back of one of the stools in the kitchenette. He looked up at our entering with a smile, and I swiftly made my way directly over to him. He placed his hands lightly on my waist as I reached up to kiss him, reveling in the sweet pine scent that came with him having showered just a few hours ago.

He looked down at me with a calculating gaze, running his thumb underneath one of my eyes. "You've been crying." It wasn't a question, and I could hear the concern in his voice. I just shook my head as a way of silently asking him not to push on the matter, taking his hand away from my face to guide us both over to the sofa.

Viktoria was already sat at one end, and I was about to sit besides her when Dimitri pulled me onto his lap on the other end. I squealed in delight as he wrapped his arms around my waist securely, placing a closed-mouth kiss just in front of my ear. I could see Vik pretending to reach at the sight, and I gave her a push with my foot in retaliation. She laughed, and I hummed in delight as I wrapped an arm around my man's shoulders.

"So, what did you want to see Alexei for?" I asked curiously, fiddling absentmindedly with his long hair. I silently noted that he must of cut it at some point during the past day or two, since it fell slightly shorter than it had previously, but made no passing comment on it.

"I was asking him if he'd be okay with you taking the weekend away from school." He answered casually, and I halted my movements with his hair. Pulling back slightly to look at his face properly, I gave him an 'are you serious?' look. He chuckled, continuing with his explanation. "I told him that after what happened last weekend you deserved some time elsewhere in Russia. I said I'd be attending as your official Guardian, and he gave us the okay. Just so long as we're both back in time for Monday's classes."

"Are you taking me exploring?" I teased with a childish smile, making circles on the back of his neck with my index finger. "Where are we going?"

"Are you taking her back to meet Mama and Babushka?" Viktoria jumped up with wide eyes, looking frantically between the pair of us. I opened my mouth to say something in return, but was stopped short by the fact I didn't know exactly what to say. I knew Dimitri wanted me to meet his parents while we were in Russia, but a part of me was scared of doing so. There was always the possibility that they hated me, and at the end of the day I couldn't fight against a man's mother and grandmother. If they didn't approve of me then I wasn't sure what I'd do.

"It's up to you, Malýshka." He said thoughtfully, looking at me full on. "Would you like to meet my family?"

"What if they don't like me?" I began warily, voicing my deepest concerns. He chuckled with an amusing shake of his head.

"Don't be crazy, Roza. They'll love you." He kissed the tip of my nose before turning back to Viktoria. "If we do plan to visit Baia, would you like to come as well, Viktoria? I'm sure Mama would be thrilled to get a surprise visit from both of her children. You know she loves it when the whole family is together."

"You wouldn't mind?" She arched an eyebrow as she looked more towards me, evidently wanting to go from her smile. "I wouldn't be spoiling your weekend away?"

"Come." I insisted with a smile. "It would be nice to have you there in case they really do hate me. At least I won't be entirely outcasted by the Belikovs."

"Then it's settled," Dimitri quickly announced with a playful squeeze to my waist, clearly in retort from my outcast comment. "Saturday morning, the three of us will head to Baia."

I just wanna thank you all so much for your continuous bouts of support for this story. It's half the length of my TMI fic thus far, and already has more reviews. I love you all!