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Chapter 7: Rose
I made my way down the hall, my heavy beaded skirts bustling around me. I had yet to find the library and was quickly diminishing the books I had brought with me.
"Princess Rose." A voice behind me called out.
I slowed to a stop, glancing back, over my shoulder. Dimitri's younger sister Sonya made her way towards me. "Princess Sonya." I smiled politely, turning to face her. "Can I help you?"
"I should be asking you that." She smiled kindly. "You looked a little lost."
I laughed awkwardly, glancing down to the floor before bringing my eyes to meet her's. "I have yet to track down the library." I smiled awkwardly.
"Oh." Her brow creased. "Why didn't you ask Dimitri? He seems to spend all of his time there. I am sure he would be happy to show you."
"Oh." I blushed, looking down at the stone beneath my feet. "I didn't want to be a bother."
"I highly doubt he would see it as such." she looped her arm through mine. "He seemed quite taken with you after your walk in the garden."
"He did?" I raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, he has an odd way of showing it."
"What do you mean?" her eyebrows creased.
"It seems that he has been avoiding me." I sighed.
Her jaw shifted slightly. "Really now?" her voice was tense, even though her happy tone.
"It's really not a problem." I said, trying to sooth the women in front of me. "I have only been here for a few days. I hardly expected him to bend over backwards for me."
"This is hardly him bending over backwards." Sonya scoffed, linking her arm through mine. "I would be happy to show you to the library."
"How do you find Russian Court?" She asked as we walked down a hall of windows.
"It… is certainly different from what I imagined." I looked out the panes of glass as we passed by, my eyes landing on a lush green field that was bathed in sunlight. "Greener, too." I smiled.
"Ah yes. We get more warmth than most parts of the country." She smiled back at me. "But we are only green in the summer months. During the rest of the year we are mostly white with snow."
I felt a deep pain in my chest at the mention of snow. I had not seen it since I was at court last, as a child. "What is snow like?" I asked glancing at her.
Her brown eyes widened. "Surely you have seen snow."
I shook my head. "The convent that sheltered me was in the south. It was far to warm for anything other than rain."
"But weren't you here one year for yule?" Sonya's brow furrowed.
"Oh, yes." I smiled fondly, looking at my feet. "But that was many years ago. I was inside almost the entire time, as well. I barely remember the snow."
"Well you will have a lifetime of snowy memories when you marry Dimitri and become queen." She smiled, pulling me through the hall.
I sat in a sunny window, surrounded by books. My eyes scanned over the page of a book on russian fairytales.
"Are you enjoying the book?" A strong Masculine voice echoed in my ears.
I looked up to see Dimitri's shadowy figure standing over me. "Yes, very much so." I replied, before looking back down at the pages.
"What are you reading?" He sat next to me, the cushion dipping under his weight.
"Just a fairytale is all." I closed the cover. "I hadn't read it since I was a child."
"Which one is it?" He asked, glancing at the colorful illustration that graced the front of the book. "The Danced out shoes."
"I read a french story similar to it several years back." I smiled, at him. "It is a wonderful story."
"Oh, I know." He let out a short breathy laugh, that, had I not been sitting, would have made me weak at the knees. "It was one of Viktoria's favorites when she was a child. I can't even count the times that she made one of us read it to her before she could read it herself."
"She is studying at St. Basil's, correct?" I looked at him, almost willing his eyes to meet mine.
"Yes." He sighed, leaning back against the paned glass that made up the window. "Father sent her there after she got caught in a… um… compromising position with the butcher's boy."
"Well I best hope to stay on your father's good side then." I smiled, only half joking.
Dimitri returned my smiled with one of his own. "Speaking of my father, he wishes to invite you and your ladies to a meal."
I felt my eyes widen in horror. I had only been in court for less than a week. What could I or my ladies have done to warrant a king inviting us to a meal with him. "Have I messed up already?"
"What?" He scrunched his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"It must have been horrendous if the king is dealing with it himself." I looked at the ground, my mind flashing with the stories of noble women who had messed up there betrothal contracts and been turned out without a home to return to. "I haven't even been here a week and I have already ruined it."
"Rose." He placed a gentle hand on my arm, sending warmth throughout my body. "What are you talking about?"
"Your father, I've done something wrong." I looked at him with wide terrified eyes. "He's going to break the alliance and send me away."
"What?!" Dimitri looked just as shocked as I. "No! Rose, my father isn't sending you away at all. Why would you even think that?"
"Why else would he want to have a meal with my ladies and I?" I felt my accelerated thump of my heart beat in my head.
"He wishes to get to know you is all." He reassured me, pushing a strand of my inky black hair back behind my ear.
"But…" Confusion rolled over me in waves.
"It's going to be a family meal." Dimitri spoke slowly. "He wishes for you to meet the family that you're marrying into."
"When?" I asked, shaking my head, trying to clear it.
"Tomorrow evening." His gaze fell on my shaking figure. "Would you like me to escort you back to your room?"
I nodded, almost unable to bring myself to speak.
He helped me to my feet, handing my the book that I had been reading when he had come to join me. I took his waiting arm with my free hand, letting myself be lead out of the library and towards my room.
We reached my massive door without a word shared between us.
"Thank you." I dipped my head, releasing what a swore was a steal grip on his arm.
"Are you going to be alright?" He asked, his chocolate eyes staring me down. "I didn't mean to scare you so bad."
"I will be fine, I just need to calm down a little." I replied, holding the book in front of me. "And tell your father that my ladies and I would be delighted to take dinner with the royal family tomorrow."
"Of course." He took my left hand, laying a gentle kiss across my bare knuckles. "I will see you then, Princess."
He let my hand fall gently against my skirt, turning and making his way down the hall.
I pushed open the thick, dark wood door and walked into my room, still somewhat dazed.
"Princess." Anna's voice broke through the haze that had surrounded my mind. "This arrived while you were out." She handed me a folded letter, the wax seal being the same as the letter that had arrived before first light.
"Did you see who delivered it?" I asked taking the note from her hand.
She shook her head. "No, your majesty. It was slid under your door."
I nodded, taking a seat on one of the couches that made up my sitting area. "Thank you, Anna. I will call if I need anything else."
I cracked the seal, hesitantly unfolding the note.
"My dearest princess
Congratulations on your dinner invite with the king. But please so well to remember my warning form before.
Be wary of the king and do try to avoid the wine.
Best of luck and may the spirit of the St. guide you
The Lady In Red"
Hello my lovely readers. I am so ridiculously sorry that this took so long. I have been dealing with some stuff the past few months and have been unable to find the will to write this. But here it is.
I would also like to apologize for how out of character rose seems in this chapter, but in all fairness, she is truly a prodict of the world that this version of her was raised in. And on to the Snippet
"What do you know about Rose's lady, Lissa?" Christian asked me as we prepared our horses for a ride.
"Not much." I replied honestly. I looked over to him as he saddled his horse. "Why?"
Christian was pale, so pale that it was hard to miss the light pink flush that covered his cheeks. "No reason."
So there it is. I will have that done and up as soon as I can find time to write it, but it may not be till mid June. So please don't expect anything new for most of May.
I love you all
ThePeridotMoon
