"Mom? What are you doing here?"
"You're getting married!" she screeched.
The group turned around at my mother's outburst. I was at Dimitri's side in a flash. He put his arm around my shoulder comfortingly. She glared at it.
"You! What do you think you're doing marrying my daughter? She's eighteen and your twenty-five. You were her teacher and mentor. I knew she liked you from the day that she figured out you were missing, but for you to like her. Your student. Are you insane?!"
"Guardian Hathaway," Dimitri was calm. He was in control of himself. Something I needed to learn. "I love your daughter. I love her with all my heart and soul. I want to marry her"
"What about being a Guardian," she asked me. "Are you just going to walk away from Vasilisa so you can live this fake romance of yours?"
"I love Dimitri. And I'm not turning my back on Lissa. I can be married to Dimitri and still be a Guardian. Nowhere in the rules does it say that a Guardian can't be married."
"You aren't marrying him. Now get your hands off of her!"
Dimitri and I held our ground. It was time I finally stood up to my mother. I was eighteen and there was nothing she could do to stop me from doing what I wanted. I fought hard to keep my control. If I were to snap I could possibly do something I would regret.
"Mother," I said blankly. All I could manage was a dull, flat tone. "I am of the legal age. You are not the boss of me anymore. It's my life. If I want to marry Dimitri then I will. I plan to stay Lissa's Guardian. Nothing is going to stop me. Dimitri and I love each other and we want to get married."
"You want to get married? You want to live out this fantasy of yours? Fine. You are dead to me. I don't ever want to see you again." With that she walked away. It would probably be the last time I would see her as my mother.
A single tear ran down my cheek before a gained control I had never been close to my mother but ever since the Spokane incident we had been a little closer. I didn't think it would hurt this much to be disowned by her. I started walking back towards the group. Dimitri caught up quickly and put his are around my waist. Lissa walked up to me and gave me a hug.
"It's going to be okay, Rose," she whispered in my ear. Then, she let go and we continued walking toward the feeders.
While Christian, Dimitri and Lissa fed Eddie and I talked.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Eddie was acting the big brother role again. That's what I liked about.
"Yah. I'm fine. It's just a lot to take in. I knew she would be mad when she found out but I didn't think she would disown me. Do you think it would have been easier if she would have found out from Dimitri and I?"
"I don't know, Rose. Maybe. Don't worry, though. She only said those things because she's upset. People say things they don't mean when they are angry. Just give her some time to cool down and to let it sink in."
"I don't know, Eddie. I think she was serious. But it doesn't matter really. She was never there in my life anyway so I won't be losing much. I guess it's just the thought of not having a mom that upset me. I'm fine now."
"'Kay. I just worry about you sometimes. You're like a sister to me, Rose.
"I feel the same about you. You're like a protective older brother. Thanks, Ed."
"No prob."
Dimitri, Eddie, and I were standing guard while Liss and Christian talked to Tatiana. I cracked a smile when I replayed what happened when we walked into the room.
Tatiana greeted us individually. Everyone responded 'You Majesty'. Well, almost everyone.
"Hello, Grandmother." I'm pretty sure it was Dimitri who gasped. "You look shocked, Grandmother. Are you well?" I tried my hardest not to sound sarcastic but I couldn't help the grinned that flashed across my face.
Tatiana regained her cool. "Guardian Hathaway. I have no idea what you are talking about. And you are to address me as 'Your Majesty' or 'Queen Tatiana.'"
"Oh, I think you know good and well what I am talking about. Why shouldn't I be able to call you Grandmother? It is what you are. I mean, my father, Ibrahim, I'm sure calls you Mother and Adrian calls you Aunt. So why can I not call you Grandmother?"
"You shall stop speaking this nonsense and shall speak to formally or I'll have to ask you to leave the room."
I shut up and started walking toward my post. I couldn't stop the smug smile on my face. Dimitri shot me a look that said 'Are you crazy?!' before walking to his position.
Back in the present they were telling the Queen what classes they wanted to major in. They continued to talk college while we kept watch. I was only half paying attention. My mind kept wandering to the night before when I left my body. It must have been from being Shadow-Kissed. But why were they able to feel me and why was I able to pick up objects? It just didn't add up. I would definitely have to do some more research on St. Vladimir and Shadow-Kissed Anna. I wasn't able to find a whole lot on Anna but since we were at the Royal Court I'm sure they had original copies and a bigger selection of books on them.
Christian and Lissa wanted to go get lattes after they finished up. I let Dimitri know where I was going then headed off towards the library. The library was a pretty good size. I went straight to the back of the library. It's where they kept a lot of books of our history stored. I walked up to the counter with an elderly Dhampir sitting behind it.
"Hello," she said kindly. "What can I do for you today, Guardian Hathaway?" It shocked me that she knew my name but it shouldn't have.
"Yes. I need some books out of the restricted section about Shadow-Kissed Anna and Vladimir. Preferably ones with a lot of information about Anna."
She looked at me skeptically. "I'm sorry but you have to be a Royal or have one's permission to see those."
"Oh, I do. I am actually here for Princess Vasilisa. She sent me here to pick up some books for her research. She's trying to get an understanding of herself. Shadow-Kissed Anna seemed to play a big role in Vladimir's life and she believes there is something more about her."
"Oh, ok." I was a very good liar. I could almost fool anyone. "Follow me." She led me into one of the last rows in the room. "You should be able to find everything that the Princess needs. They should be all the way down these two columns of shelves." With that she walked back to her desk.
I was about to give up when I finally found a very promising book 'The Life and History of Anna Rockwell'. It was perfect. Hopefully it would give some helpful information on her. I found the gang lounging in our living room.
"Rose! What do you think you were doing today? Were you trying to get into trouble?" asked Lissa.
"What?" I asked innocently. "I didn't do anything wrong."
"Didn't do anything wrong?" Eddie exclaimed. "You insulted the Queen. Not that I would not love to do the same. But jeeze. You can't just call her Grandmother."
"I thought she was going to shit herself," laughed Christian. "It was a Kodak moment. I wished I had a camera. Haha!"
"I just called her what she is. She is my grandmother."
"What are we going to do with you, Rose? What do you have there?" Dimitri asked, gesturing towards my books.
"I figured I needed to do some research on being Shadow-Kissed. After last night, I want to know what can possibly happen. I'm going to go read in my room."
"'Kay," They agreed.