Chapter Twelve - Insecurities Begone
"You know, it's not too late to send me back to the Academy." I innocently called back to Dimtri, where he was standing by the Academy-provided SUV unloading our bags.
We'd left early Saturday morning for Baia so that we'd arrive late enough in the morning that everyone in the house should be awake. Viktoria, not being used to being up so early, had made a big deal out of not getting enough sleep, and so had insisted we allowed her to nap in the back seat. She'd slept the entire four hour journey, waking up just before we entered the outskirts of Baia at around 9.45 in the morning. It was now 10 o'clock, and we were parked outside the Belikov's house while I still made feeble attempts to get out of the weekend.
"I'm sure your family would much rather see you both alone." I continued, walking forwards ever so slowly towards the pretty old-timely redbricked building. Viktoria had already skipped ahead and was almost to the door, and I could hear Dimitri shutting the boot of the car behind me. "How about you two spend the weekend here, I'll drive the car back to the Academy, and I'll come pick you up tomorrow evening to drive you back?"
I spun around hopefully in an attempt to make my speedy retreat to the car, when I was instead blocked by a six foot 7 wall of Dhampir. In an instant he had me lifted off the ground and slung over his shoulder, carrying me towards the house. "Dimitri Belikov you put me the hell down this instant!" I screamed, slapping his back as best I could, wriggling around in his grip as I tried to escape his grasp. I knew it was pointless, but that didn't mean I wouldn't try!
"Viktoria, can you go grab your bag from besides the car? I'll get Rose and I's in a moment." I huffed dramatically as his words clearly indicated he wasn't going to let me go back to St Basil's, slumping against his back hopelessly. I saw Viktoria walk past the pair of us as she headed to the SUV, giving me an apologetic expression on her way.
I was surprised when Dimitri slowly lowered me to the ground, having stopped at the front door. I looked up to say something but he quickly silenced me by placing a thumb on my lips. He cupped the side of my face with his other hand as he peered into my eyes curiously. "What's wrong, Malýshka?"
"Nothing's wrong, Comrade." I swallowed hard, glancing out of the corner of my eye at the front door. "I'm just... nervous."
That made him laugh. "Rosemarie Hathaway, the same Rosemarie Hathaway that broke out and protected the Princess for two years, the girl whom has faced and killed Strigoi, not to mention having literally looked death in the face - that same Rosemarie Hathaway is scared of a couple of Dhampir's?"
"First of all, call me Rosemarie again and I'll strike you down where you stand," I widened my eyes threateningly, though I imagined he would assume I was joking. "And secondly, they're not just 'a couple of Dhampir's' - they're your family! The only people who can force you to kick me to the curb, should they decide they hate my guts."
"Roza, you're being absurd!" He still had an amused expression on his face as he shook his head affectionately at my worrisome outbreak. "Even if they do hate you - which, in itself is a silly concern that will never happen - there's nothing they can do to prevent me from loving you. Despite all odds we've made it this far, and I refuse to let you go. Even if it is against my family's wishes."
I pouted my lips childishly as I looked up at him, defeated. I knew his love for me was faultless, and my worries about meeting his family were unnecessary, but the neurotic part of me just couldn't let the worry go. I sighed softly, closing my eyes and leaning into his touch. "You're right. I'm sorry. Blame my insecure seventeen year old nature for being so paranoid."
"No need to be sorry," he smiled, leaning down to kiss me sweetly. "Besides, I happen to like your insecure seventeen year old nature. Now, let's face your fears and go meet the rest of the Belikov's."
The entire interior of the lobby was a beautiful Victorian-styled design, covered ceiling to floor in Mahogany Oak wood. There was a spiraled staircase directly to the right which went up, with a door underneath it. There was a large square-arch directly opposite the front door which appeared to lead into a dining room typed area, a similar arch on the other side of that. Immediately it had a very homely and very comforting feel, and already I felt comforted.
There was shuffling from somewhere in the house as Viktoria inched past me to place her bag at the foot of the steps, shrugging out of her coat to place it into the cubby hole that the door under the stairs led to. She gestured for me to do the same as Dimitri retreated back outside to grab our bags, just as a tall woman with short brown hair rounded the corner of the dining room space. "Viktoria?"
The younger girl spun around to face the woman with a wide smile, opening her arms up for a hug. "Surprise! I thought I'd come and visit for the weekend." The woman giggled with joy as she wrapped her arms around Viktoria, spinning her around while saying something in Russian. I leaned against the doorframe semi-awkwardly as I rubbed my arm, not wanting to impede on their moment.
Once the older woman relinquished Vik from her grasp, she turned to me with a peculiar expression. She began to say something in Russian, but was interrupted as Dimitri came through the door besides me with our bags. "Dimka? You're home!"
"Sonja!" It was her turn to be picked up this time as Dimitri placed the bags on the floor, striding forwards to take his older sister into his embrace. Throughout the commotion, another woman had appeared at the archway with wide eyes, and I assumed it was his mother from how old she appeared. Viktoria stepped forwards to give her mother a hug just as Dimitri placed his sister back on the floor.
"Where's Babushka and Karolina? And the kids?" He asked, searching above everybody's heads for the two women in question.
"Karolina is at work, Paul and Zoya are playing in the back room, and Babushka is-"
"Babushka is a lot slower than you all so would like some patience." An older woman snapped back as she appeared behind Dimitri's mother, her eyes immediately settling on me. Suddenly I felt awfully inadequate as she made her way towards me, and I tensed up. Dimitri must have sensed my unease since he stepped away from his sister to place a comforting hand on the small of my back. His grandmother gave him a scolding wave of her hand and muttered something in Russian, before gingerly placing her hands on the sides of my face.
"Mama, don't-" his mother began, but was cut short once again by the older woman hushing her loudly with a wave of her hand.
She focused her attention back on me with a scrutinising expression, flicking her gaze between both of my eyes. The entire room was entirely silent, undoubtedly watching our interaction. She seemed to take an awfully long time examining me, or whatever she was doing, and I couldn't help but feel like I had just failed a pop quiz I didn't even know I was taking.
"So you're Rose?" She asked almost testingly, and I nodded slightly despite her hands still holding my face. She hummed in contentment, smiling first up at Dimitri before back at me. "Welcome to the family, Rose. I'm Yeva, but you can call me Babushka, just like the rest of my grandchildren." I let out a large sigh of relief that I didn't realise I'd been holding in while she wrapped her arms around me, pulling me in for a tight hug. For a woman that was bordering on 70, she was still taller than me, and was surprisingly strong.
When Yeva finally released me from her grasp, Dimitri wrapped an arm around my waist, turning to the rest of his family. "Everybody, this is Rose - my girlfriend. Roza, meet my family - well, half of my family, at least. My sister Sonja, my mother Olena, and obviously my Babushka."
"It's a pleasure to meet you all." I smiled timidly to each of them as Dimitri introduced them, still wary of where I stood in their eyes. Although Dimitri had previously told me that his Babushka would be the hardest to win over, and I'd already succeeded on that front, I was still deftly aware that I still wanted to make a good impression on the rest of his family.
Olena was the next to step forwards, wrapping her smaller arms around my shoulders and pulling me into a motherly hug. "The pleasure is ours, Rose. We've been waiting for the day Dimka brought you back here."
"Been waiting long?" I teased as I hugged her back, dropping my arms back to my side as she stepped away. She laughed, her hands still placed lightly on my shoulders.
"My dear, you have no idea."
Dimitri had managed to excuse us somewhere between all the family greetings to put our bags away in his room. A large yet simplistic room that continued the house's Victorian features, I couldn't help but think how utterly Dimitri it appeared to be. Opposite the door was probably the largest bed I'd ever seen, decorated with the same Mahogany wood that surrounded the rest of the house. The far wall had two half-length windows with a criss-cross pane, the rest of the wall being covered with a pair of double doors that led out onto a small balcony. There was an ornate fireplace on the wall at the end of the bed, which Dimitri had assured me was fully-functioning, several cabinets either side being full of some of his clothes and left over books from when he left for America.
"I never thought I'd see a house so big." I commented casually as I placed my bag on the end of his bed, taking out the gift I had bought for his family. "Though I guess housing five adults and two children would call for a larger house."
"My father was the one who bought it for my mother when she fell pregnant with my eldest sister, Karolina." He explained from where he was watching me near the door. "It was probably the only thing he left behind for the family when he cleared off."
By the time we had headed back downstairs, the Belikov's had retreated to the 'back room', a living room-typed area but was smaller and with a wide open space for the children to play in. It was lighter coloured with beiges and creams, being decorated with a three-seater sofa facing two single arm chairs besides an open fireplace. Yeva and Olena were sitting in the two chairs while Viktoria was sitting at the end of the sofa. Sonja was on the floor by the fireplace playing with a baby whom I assumed to be her niece, Zoya.
The moment we walked in the room, Dimitri was immediately ambushed by a mini-Dimitri who was calling out "Uncle Dimka!"
"Hey, Paul!" Dimtiri hugged his nephew who, much to my dislike, was almost as tall as me despite appearing to only be a child. Pulling away from him, I could see that he looked almost a spitting image of his uncle. With the same dark brown eyes and dark brown hair, one could easily mistake him for Dimitri's child if you didn't know any better.
The boy then turned to me with an award winning smile and outstretched his hand. "I'm Paul."
"Hey, Paul." I smiled with a small laugh at how formal he was being for his age, shaking his hand deftly. "I'm Rose."
"I know. You're Uncle Dimka's girlfriend." He nodded. "Everyone always talks about you. Aren't you a Guardian as well?"
"Not quite," I admitted. "But soon to be."
"Paul, stop bothering Rose and Uncle Dimka and come look after your sister." Sonja scolded from where she sat with the baby, rising to her feet as Paul wondered over to take her place. He immediately picked up one of the baby toys and started fiddling with it above his baby sister, making her giggle and laugh.
"He's no bother." I assured her as Dimitri and I made our way over to the sofa. Sonja sat herself down besides Viktoria, leaving one vacant space. I was about to sit at Dimitri's feet when he sat down before he caught me, pulling me to sit on his knee. I blushed at the forwardness he presented while in front of his family though didn't say anything about it, letting him wrap his arms around my waist and nuzzle his nose into my hair.
The next couple of hours were spent with me giving each Belikov the present I had bought for them, placing Karolina's to the side for when she returned from work. Olena and Sonja had plenty of questions for me about life back at St Vladimir's, and Yeva occasionally had an input about Dimitri and I's relationship. While the others were still perplexed with the way we came to be lovers, Yeva seemed less surprised and more amused with the questions everyone was firing at us. I figured I'd talk to Dimitri about it sooner or later, wondering if they knew something I didn't.
At some point Olena had disappeared to prepare some lunch, returning to the back room with a tray full of sandwiches and cheese and crackers. Karolina had returned from work at some point during the day, immediately being drawn to me much like Yeva had been when she entered the room. She was very sweet and very polite when greeting me, even profusely thanking me for the present I had bought her which had simply been a bottle of my personal favourite perfume.
"So, Rose," Karolina looked up at me from where she was sat at the fireplace, Zoya in her lap and Paul playing with some action figures beside her. It was nearing on 5 in the evening and we were all still sat in the back room, Sonja having earlier left for her shift at the Pharmacy. "Have you heard anything about the Strigoi that are after you? I can't imagine how worried you must have been."
"It was a surprise, that's for sure." I nodded, rubbing up and down my arms nervously as I looked back at Dimitri. He nodded encouragingly, wrapping his arms tighter around me. "My friends back at St Vlad's have said they've heightened the number of Guardians on patrol as best they can, but they're no closer to finding the Strigoi who attacked the Academy."
"What do you think they'll do?" It was Viktoria this time, turning herself to sit sideways on the sofa to face where I was still sat on Dimitri's lap.
I shrugged lamely. "I don't know. I know that they want me before the Summer Solstice - that gives the Academy a little under five months to find them. If they even can find them." I looked at my lap with pursed lips, silently doubting they could do anything quick enough.
Dimitri had explained that it was highly unusual for Strigoi to hunt for specific individuals, especially with targeted attacks such as the one that forced me to run and hide in Russia. Strigoi hunting alone was dangerous, but acting in groups was even more so. If they weren't found and killed before the date was up, then there was no doubt in anybody's mind that everybody's life was in danger.
After dinner, many of us decided to use the lull in the atmosphere as a retreat for bed. Karolina disappeared to put Zoya and, despite his adamant protests, Paul to bed, before claiming she was tired herself. With a hug and a kiss on the cheek for each of her family, including me, she was the first to leave.
"We should probably get some sleep as well, Malýshka." Dimitri said affectionately, stroking the side of my face with his index finger. "Today has been a busy day of greetings for you." I nodded in agreement, rising from my seat to bid everybody a goodnight. Olena and Viktoria gave me a tight hug of farewell while Yeva gave me a kiss on either cheek, a goodbye Dimitri later informed me that she only did with the people she was most trusting of.
Truth be told I wasn't that tired, though I knew Dimitri had just said that as an excuse for some alone time. As Dimitri was shutting and - unknown to me - locking the door, I turned around to ask him a question. "How come-" with one stride he was directly in front of me, placing a finger on my lips to hush me. I furrowed my brows curiously before he tapped his ear, pointing to the door. It was then that I heard creaking footsteps almost directly outside the bedroom door, and I quietly laughed at the thought of his sisters eavesdropping on him.
He smirked wickedly, leaning down to press give me a heated kiss. I shifted up onto my tiptoes to wrap my arms around his neck, running one of my hands up into his hair. He tugged at my lower lip between his teeth, and I pulled at his hair in retaliation, forcing a throaty moan to come from him. I smiled, pulling back to place a finger on his lips to silence him. Much like he had before, I tapped my ear with a smirk before pointing to the door.
"You little minx," he growled quietly, gripping my hips tightly as he lifted me up and tossed me unceremoniously onto the bed. I giggled as I retreated to the middle of the bed, him chasing me the whole way before capturing my lips with a possessive kiss.