Hope everyone had a good holiday! Sorry for any mistakes or typos in here, I'm really hungover and wanted to get it up before work. Bleh. Anyway, thank you so much for the reviews! Dimitri and Rose's night together will be the next chapter up, but I'm going working/camping at the Falls for the next five days, so it's unlikely I'l able to update until then =[ So as consolation, if there is anything in paticular you want done/said in the next chapter, put it in a review or pm and I'l do my best.
Re-Edited now!!!! So sorry about the strange jumps in time without breakers, I had them in my word document but it seems they didn't make the upload! I'm not a bad writer! It was just a typo. Sorry again.
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Still don't own anything, but Judd Judson apparently belongs to Rachel. I disagree, but we can share.
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Chapter Two.
Rose POV.
Wow, was about all I could think. Just wow.
The 'small' dining room had been transformed. The vaulted ceiling had been hung with long strings of fake pine and tinsel, interspersed with mistletoe. The same strings ran looped along the long walls, anchored to the stone with wreaths of pine cones and red ribbon.
Three long tables sat down the center of the room, covered in festive tablecloths, with more plastic-pine-leaves-and-wreath adornments, including little plastic holly leaves this time. On top of two of the tables were unlit candles and huge bowls of punch, also surrounded by holly. The third table – or were they benches? – closest to the wall was covered in gifts wrapped in a medley of different colored papers. I made a mental note to get myself near that table later.
Dragging my eyes away from a small, suspicious looking box covered in newspaper that just screamed wrapped by Adrian, I noticed that Tasha had somehow managed to score a room with a fireplace; and what a fireplace it was. I would bet all the small amount of money I possessed that we could pull up chairs inside the hearth and still not get burned by the roaring flames that were currently consuming a log as thick as my thigh. The stockings that Lissa had had commissioned for the occasion were hanging around it on rather precarious looking plastic hooks.
Next to the fireplace a semicircle of comfortable looking couches and chairs had been set up, and sitting in various states of disarray were our friends.
In the time that I has spent taking in the scenery, Lissa had made her way over to the congregation, and was standing there surveying their appearance with her hands on her hips. Mia was dressed in ragged jeans and a sweatshirt with a reindeer on it that looked home made. I envied her the comfort of jeans. Adrian was half lying down, with his back leaned against the couch and a mostly empty glass of punch in his hand. He had a small mountain of opened Christmas bon-bons next to him, and was wearing a purple crepe paper crown. Guardian Judson was leaning against the fireplaces' mantle, for what looked to me like support, and was resting his face in his hand after knocking down a number of stockings. Tasha herself looked as well put together as usual, long black hair pulled back into a loose bun, her soft looking black slacks and white jacket looking neat and un-rumpled.
"Semi-formal." Lissa said, trying not to sound disapproving, but failing. "If this is semi-formal, I'd hate to see casual." Adrian coughed a laugh as he pushed himself to his feet, using the couch to try and hide his sway. "I think your looking at casual, cousin. Not everyone here woke up exactly fresh faced this morning." He winced and touched his head absentmindedly, obviously remembering the hangover he must have woken up with earlier. This hardly surprised me, but the similar look on Mia's face did. I hadn't taken her for a party girl anymore.
Adrian grinned again. "It's good to see not everyone has such reservations though." I followed his gaze and found Christian was filling himself a glass of punch from the table, and another for Lissa. That boy was going to be wasted by midday.
Tasha laughed at their bantering. "Merry Christmas Lissa," She said as she reached out and hugged her. Then she looked over to where Dimitri, Eddie and I stood. "And to all of you as well, come sit down and grab a drink." She grinned. I sighed, the couches did look really inviting, and I could smell the punch from over here, so it had to be good.
"Sorry Tasha, I'm still on duty today. Gotta play hardass guardian." She shook her head. "Don't be ridiculous, you're guests! We're in the heart of the Royal Court, with guardians patrolling the grounds and corridors. I'm sure it's fine if you sit down and have a drink just this once, you're both always on duty longer than you should be anyway." I couldn't help but notice how her gaze flicked to Dimitri as she said this.
I weighed the pros and cons in my head. It was really unlikely that anything dramatic would happen to endanger Lissa here, and there were two guardians stationed outside the door. I seriously doubted the Queen would be visiting anytime today, but if someone saw me not on alert…
Tasha seemed to sense my mental battle. "Judd can keep watching the doors and windows, he's already on it. You don't mind, do you Judd?" Guardian Judson actually looked like he was about to cry, but nodded in the affirmative. Tasha turned back to us and grinned. I wondered why she couldn't see there was something up with the poor man.
Eddie piped up. "I don't mind staying on duty with Guardian Judson, if he doesn't mind." Judd Judson shot Eddie a weak smile, and what I think was meant to amount to a grateful look. I looked at Dimitri, asking for confirmation with my eyes. He just shrugged, and headed towards the punch bowl.
Grinning like and idiot, I half ran towards the couches and threw myself down on one. Screw dignity, this was almost like getting a day off.
Lissa laughed, and came and sat on the end of the couch that wasn't taken by a sprawled me. Christian sat on the floor and leaned against her legs like a cat. Speaking of cats...
"Hey Christian, why'd you get Lissa such a god-ugly cat."
Dimitri shook his head as he handed me a glass of the rather strong smelling punch, and took a seat in the lounge chair next to my couch. Lissa looked at me with a half hurt expression. "Don't be horrible to Smithy. He came from a shelter and had a very hard life before Tasha found him and Christian adopted him. He has feelings, and I'm sure he doesn't appreciate being called ugly. He's a lovely little boy."
I just stared at her. "Smithy? The best name you could come up with was Smithy. I thought this thing was meant to be your surrogate baby or something."
Lissa had the good grace to at least look bashful. "He… well, he sort of already had a name when the center found him." I did my one eyebrow trick for the second time in a day. "So what? The mean ugly cat is now also stolen goods? This just keeps getting better Liss." Lissa actually looked hurt, and despite his earlier good mood, Christian was once again shooting me dark looks.
Fortunately for me, Adrian then decided to rejoin the group and disperse the argument. Or save my ass. I thought to myself.
"Rose is just feeling insecure about the cat not showing her the same doting affection the rest of us do." He came and sat down next to me in a very similar fashion to how Christian was sitting with Lissa. "But don't worry, I'll be you kitty cat if you like."
He grinned up at me, and I smacked him across the back of the head before he could attempt to rub his face in my cleavage like a cat, or anything else equally horrifying. Adrian just kept on grinning, and polished off his nearly full glass of punch.
I followed suit with mine, and saw Dimitri lightly frowning in my peripheral vision. I checked his glass to see that it was only half empty.
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"Presents!" Adrian roared as he lay across an entire couch. "I demand we open some presents!"
Christian stood up from the table that was littered with the remains of a giant meal, almost staggered, and then righted himself. I watched in confusion and he spread his arms wide, and then, with a serious face, declared: "It is time." I couldn't help snorting at his solemnity, but as Mia and Eddie started laughing, Lissa and Tasha clapped, and I felt myself giggling.
The mad rush to sort out what belonged to who, and put them in the stockings Lissa had had made began, Dimitri made his way over to me.
"Are you alright?" He whispered in my ear. Even though his breath on my neck gave me shivers, I couldn't help but be confused. "I'm fine, I'm great actually. Why wouldn't I be?" How could I be anything but great with him standing this close? "You've had an awful lot of that punch." Oh, wonderful. So he thought I was drunk. "I've only had four glasses comrade, even Lissa's had more than me. And Christian's had a lot more than me.
We both turned our eyes to the gift table where Christian was trying to fill a stocking one handed, with his other hand stopping the imminent fall.
The look on Dimitri's face was pretty priceless. "Definitely had more that you." I felt his large hand on my back. Almost, but not quite, rubbing circles into my skin. "You take care of yourself, alright?" His face turned serious as he said this. I felt the urge to scoff at the comment, but the look he was giving me stopped it.
"You're not giving our Rose a hard time are you Dimka?" Tasha called over from the other table. Dimitri shook his head. "She's an adult now, let her make her own punch-cisions." Mia yelled, laughing at her own joke. The laughing proved to be the downfall of the stocking she was filling, and she was soon on the floor trying to scoop up brightly wrapped parcels.
Dimitri was giving me that odd look again, with more eye contact than he usually allowed. "Yes, she is an adult now." For some reason the way he said that made goose bumps rise up on my arms.
Eddie was staring at me from his post across the room.
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I sat next to Guardian Judson by the fire, turning my wrist back and forth so the bracelet that hung there sparkled in the firelight. A delicate linked chain with tiny cubic zirconias set into each rivet. Well at least I hoped they were cubic zirconia. Knowing Adrian though, it was entirely possible that they were real.
Judd sat next to me, holding his now emptied stocking in his hands and looking at it forlornly. The stockings were beautiful creations, all white faux fur and soft linen. Each of them had our name stitched onto it in silver thread.
Sadly for Judd, the tailor had made a typo. His own stocking read Judson Judd, which looked like it was putting the cherry on top of a rather scarring Christmas for him. My own Rosemarie Hathaway stocking sat next to me, stuffed with a large amount of used wrapping paper.
"You'll be right." I said, patting his shoulder. "It only happens once a year. Now all you have to worry about is if Tasha decides to throw a birthday party for someone." He looked at me with an almost frantic look in his eye. "She wouldn't do that would she? Have other parties?" His hand was now gripping my forearm like it was a life preserver.
"Um, no. I guess not..." At my words he relaxed again. Jeez, talk about not taking a joke.
Judd started speaking again. "It's not that I don't like Tash. I do, really. It's just all this decorating stuff. The holly and tablecloths and…" he shuddered. "I haven't slept in 48 hours."
Wow, I guess Eddies comment before hadn't been too far off the mark.
I turned back to my now opened pile of presents, sifting through them, looking for something in particular.
"Hey, comrade." I called to Dimitri who was talking to Lissa at the dinner table. He turned and looked at me. "Hm?"
"Well, the way I see it, it's later now. Where's my stuff? You haven't given me anything." I tried to put as much indignation as I could into my accusation. Lissa started laughing, and Dimitri just shook his head, smiling. "Roza, Roza, Roza. What are we going to do with you?"
I looked at him like he was an idiot. "Give me presents, hopefully. Now cough up."
He just smiled and shook his head some more. "I told you earlier, you can't be trusted. I'll give it to you later." I felt the small hope I'd been harboring inside since the morning grow, and smiled back.
Once again, I noticed Eddie staring at me from his post, this time frowning.
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Everyone was packing up and saying goodbye. With all the punch drunk, all the food eaten and all the presents opened; everyone seemed to be conceding it was time to go to bed.
I watched at Lissa put all my things into a bag for me. I didn't like seeing her struggling for my benefit, but she had adamantly claimed before that I couldn't fight Strigoi if my hands were full of stockings; and she was half right.
I hugged the last few people of the group goodbye, and gave Mia and Adrian a peck on the cheek.
I wandered over to Eddie, who was technically off for the night now, to say goodbye. He pulled me into a tight hug, and I rested my head against his shoulder. He let out a small laugh. "Are you tipsy?" I resisted the urge to pull out of the hug and smack him, instead just shrugging. He held me for longer than I had expected, and seemed to be trying to say something.
In the end he just sighed and said, "I know." I was confused, had I said something? "Know what? You going senile on us Eddie?"
He sighed again. "I know… about you and Guardian Belikov."
I froze.
Eddie continued to hold me in spite of my sudden stiffening. "What do you mean Eddie?" He couldn't know. I couldn't loose my job, I couldn't loose Lissa. Or Dimitri.
"I know about you and Guardian Belikov, Rose." He repeated.
How could this be happening?
Eddie looked down at me. "I just want you to be careful, ok Hathaway? He's a lot older than you. I don't want to see you get hurt." He let out a small laugh. "I doubt I'd win a fight against him if it came down to that."
What did he mean? Of course it was going to hurt me if Dimitri lost his job. "Please don't do this, Eddie."
Now it was his turn to look confused. "Do what, exactly?" I frowned. "Report us. I swear it hasn't interfered with work. I can't loose Lissa Eddie, I just can't."
Eddie started to laugh. "You thought I was going to report you? Come on Rose, I don't think the board cares about who you're taking your clothes off with that much." I took a moment to process the information.
"So your not going to report us?" Eddie shook his head. "I just wanted to tell you to be careful, Rose. The last thing you need right now is to get messed up over a guy. None of them deserve you enough to get to do that."
I smiled and stepped forward for a hug again. "Thank you Eddie, really." After a quick squeeze he let go and just smiled, nodding towards the door. I turned to see a very impatient Lissa and company, and a curious looking Dimitri.
Shooting Eddie one last grin, I trotted to the door, and we were off.
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Presents in hand, I walked away from Lissa and Christian's room with a smile on my face. Things are finally working out.
No sooner had I thought this than a pair of arms reached out from an adjoining hallway and grabbed me. I began to struggle, but before I could inflict any blows saw who it was.
"Aren't you going to fight me?" Dimitri asked, pressing me and my ridiculously large armful up against the wall. "Why would I want to do that comrade? If you're dead, how am I meant to get my present?"
A tiny frown creased his forehead. "You're drunk." He stated. I must have pulled a face, because he shook his head quickly. "It doesn't matter anyway. Well…" He seemed to hesitate for a moment. "Merry Christmas." He was dangling what looked like a room key in front of my face.
"Uhh…" was about all I could say, until realization dawned on me. "No way! Really?"
His face lit up at my reaction, but he tried to hide his excitement. "Only if you want to. We can always just go back to our own rooms and sleep if you'd like. I'll order you a necklace or something online." His smile got wider as he teased me.
"Give me the room key!" I shouted, dropping my armful and lunging for the small plastic card.
Dimitri laughed, easily evading my half drunken attempt at besting him. He restrained me and held me up against the wall, his fingers on my lips. "You have to be quiet for now at least, we can't have people waking up." His eyes began to burn into me. "Did you really think you could get that key? I may have taught you everything you know, but not everything I know." And with that, he kissed me.
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Hurrah! Just to clear something up, Eddie dosn't know that Rose and Dimitri were together at the academy, he's just A) observant, B)Spends a lot more time around both of them now that he's guarding Christian and C) Since their equals now, Dimitri's able to have a more friendly relationship in public with Rose without people thinking it's inapproriate, Eddie just saw through the act.
I know the way he said it might have seemed a little blunt, but he's a guardian, not a politician. I just imagine Eddie having a very honest and straightforward personality.
20 reviews!!!!!!! I nearly wet myself.