So here's chapter 13!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of Richelle Mead's VA characters!
Chapter 13
In the middle of the night…
It was four in the morning and the sun wasn't out. In fact, ever since I came back, the weather in Montana wasn't the best. It was simply dark, just like my mind and emotions. I hurt Kevin and I knew it. Whether I was guilty or feeling bad about it was the only thing on my mind now. But it would've been cruel to give him false hope too so what was I supposed to do? What was right and what was wrong? As I woke up, Dimitri's arms were still bound tightly to me. When I shifted and turned to snuggle against him, he slowly woke up.
"Sorry…" I apologized. He didn't say anything. All he did was smile.
"Are you feeling okay? Are you cold? Too warm?" He asked quietly. I stayed quiet.
"Why am I feeling like this…?" My body started to shake.
"What's wrong? Are you not feeling well?" Dimitri got me to sit up and face him as he turned on the light.
"Turn the damn light off!" I yelled. A spark of darkness shot at the light, blowing out the light bulb.
"Rose, calm down!" Dimitri brought my face up to him. What he saw was my tear stained face. "Rose…have you been crying all this time?" I slowly nodded.
"I shouldn't have done that to Kevin…" I whispered.
"Oh…now I understand. You're still upset about what happened. Look, Rose, it's late. There's not much you can do about it now. We can talk about this in the morning, alright?" Dimitri tried to soothe me back to sleep. I started to lie down again near Dimitri. He pulled the covers over me and wrapped his arms around me again. "Go to sleep. Okay?" I slowly closed my eyes, but right as they were going to close, it was almost like my body stopped me. I stayed in a half awake state as things ran through my mind. I forced my eyes to close as I grabbed onto Dimitri, my heart rate quickening. He quickly opened his eyes and looked at me. "Oh my god…Rose…" He quickly hugged me and sat up, bringing me up with him. "This might help a bit more," He sat behind me and draped the blanket over the both of us. He then wrapped his arms in front of me as I held onto them. Then, ever so gently, he pushed my head onto his arms, as if to make a pillow for me. "Shh…you're going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay…" And just like he said, it did the trick somehow. Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep in Dimitri's arms.
In the morning…
When I woke up again, it was ten in the morning. Dimitri wasn't here and there was no note either. Suddenly, I heard knocking on the door so I opened the door. Dr. Olendski was standing there with a scared face.
"What's wrong?" I asked her.
"Dimitri…Guardian Belikov, he was just sent to the local hospital. He fainted in class…" My heart stopped.
"What…he can't…" I looked at the bed and quickly got dressed. The first thing I did was leave the school. Sure, I didn't have a car, but I knew my way there. 'Please God…don't take him away…' I thought in my mind. When I stepped out of the school though, Strigoi cornered me instantly. It was pouring rain and I wouldn't have a chance if I stayed out long. I didn't have time for them. But then this time, I had my stake so I gripped it tightly.
"Your father knew you'd eventually leave the school again…" I looked and saw Kevin standing out.
"I don't have time for this!" I yelled at him. The look of his face didn't change.
"You're coming back to your father, Rosemarie," He grabbed my wrist. I quickly got out of the grip. Tears started to flow again.
"I don't have time for this…" I told him.
"I'm of no concern on what's going on in your life," He said monotonously. I started to escape from him.
"Not a good idea," He yanked my wrist and slammed me down. I cried out as I pushed up off the ground to start running again. There was no way to escape though. Kevin just kept cornering me off. Finally I pulled out the stake and held it at my wrist.
"If you want me, you need me alive so I don't think father would appreciate me dead, now would he," I threatened. Kevin froze.
"You don't dare," He challenged. I started to cut my wrist, drawing blood.
"Rosemarie…don't…!" He pleaded.
"Then if you love me, LET ME GO!" I screamed. Kevin stepped back quickly. That was the last I saw of him as I ran towards the hospital. My wrist stung but that was only motivation to keep me going. 'Dimitri…please hang on!' I ran and ran until I saw the hospital. When I ran in, my hand was covered in my blood and rain and soaked me through.
"Miss! Are you alright?" A nurse exclaimed. I looked at my wrist as a lot of blood had been drawn out.
"Where is Dimitri Belikov?" I asked. She typed it in quickly.
"He's in room 356. Miss, stay here. I'll get a doctor for you too," She started to get up.
"No, I'll be fine…maybe. I need to see him first though," I ran to the elevators and took it up. I covered my wound in hopes of making it stop bleeding, but it was kind of useless. When I got to Dimitri's room, I stood outside, bracing myself a bit. Suddenly, a bit weak, I leaned against the door. I was still soaked, tears were still streaming down my face and I probably looked like one hell of a mess.
"Miss!" I looked and saw a doctor coming to me quickly. I suddenly ran to him grabbing his coat.
"Is he okay?" I asked.
"Is who okay?" He asked quickly.
"Dimitri…is he okay?" I looked at the doctor. He smiled gently.
"Come on, let's get you cleaned up first. You're probably going to lose feeling in your hand soon from so much blood loss," He tried to lead me somewhere but I stepped back. "He'll be fine. We need to get your wrist taken care of first. I'm surprised you're not the one collapsing right now," He took my other hand and got me into an outpatient center.
"This might sting a bit," He sprayed some disinfectant spray on the cut. I gritted my teeth as he stroked my shoulder getting me to relax. "The wound's not that deep. Any deeper and you'd be a patient here getting stitches," He started to wrap the wound and I was quiet. "May I ask if you are Rosemarie Hathaway?" He looked at me, smiling. I nodded.
"I see. Well, your wound's been treated. I won't charge you anything. Oh and here," He tossed me a few towels. "Dry yourself with them," I nodded and ran back to Dimitri's room. When I opened the door, Dimitri was lying in bed sleeping. The doctor followed me to Dimitri's room.
"I told you he'll be fine. He just suffered from exhaustion and some emotional stress. He'll be fine if he stays here for a couple of days," The doctor spoke quietly now. My tears started to trickle onto Dimitri's hand that had an IV needle in it.
"Rosemarie…"
"I did this to him…I caused all this because my father kidnapped me. Doctor, thank you for treating me, but can I be alone for a bit?" I asked nicely.
"Of course. Call me if you need anything," He handed me a card with his phone number on it. Dr. Williams was written on it. After, he took the towel and looked at me. "Get out of those clothes. I'll have a nurse give you a bath robe to wear in the meantime," He left after that. The doctor was pretty kind which was nice. I slowly got out of the cold, wet clothes and sneezed.
"Rose?" I turned and saw Dimitri start to wake.
"Hey…" I quickly wrapped the towel around me in the meantime.
"What are you doing here?" He asked quietly.
"Olendski told me you collapsed," I answered.
"Damn…" He muttered. "You're crying…"
"I'm so sorry…I caused all of this. You overworked yourself trying to find me and then at four in the morning…" Dimitri stroked my cheek and kissed me.
"It's not your fault. If any, it was my fault I didn't take better care of my health," He told me while smiling.
"Why are you still smiling?" I yelled at him. "I did this to you and you know that!" I gripped my fists.
"Roza, look at me," Right as I looked at him, he slapped me the hardest he had ever hit me. I was shocked.
"Never blame yourself for my actions. Ever. My job as a guardian is dangerous. Every time I get sick or injured, you can't keep thinking it's you that caused it. Sure I worked day and night recently trying to find you, but that was my choice to do that. Not yours. If any, blame your father for taking you away from me, and me for not protecting you in a better way," He explained. Suddenly he turned and saw my hand, I quickly hid it.
"Rose, what is that?" He asked.
"It's nothing. Don't worry about it," I tried to smile now.
"Rose, don't make me force you to say it," He told me in almost an angry voice now.
"It's nothing. Really," I told him.
"Rosemarie, you will tell me how you got that injury, now," He demanded. Even in the hospital, he was still strong as ever.
"Kevin was ready to take me back to my father the minute I stepped out of the school gate. It was raining as you can tell. He wouldn't let me go. I said that I had no time for him, but he didn't care. So I put my life on the line. I said that if he didn't let me go, well, I would kill myself. That was the only thing that would make him stop. He thought I was joking so I proved him wrong. After that, he pleaded for me to stop and let me go," I explained.
"ARE YOU SO STUPID AS TO TRY KILLING YOURSELF?" Dimitri roared at me. I flinched.
"But I had to come see you…I needed to know you were alright…" I tried to explain. He looked away from me.
"Don't…" I pleaded.
"Rose…" He started.
"Don't you dare look away from me! I spent all my energy trying to get here and you treat me like crap because of one little mishap!" I yelled at him, completely snapping. "Tell me you would've done the same thing!" I kept my argument up.
"Of course I would! But Rose, you're still a child! That's the problem!" He argued back. "I know how to work things. I could've even taken down the Strigoi if you wanted me, but you can't. When it's you versus three Strigoi, you are far too weak, especially with your physical condition recently. What if you cut yourself and Kevin didn't give up? You'd be an easy prey for them. Now tell me that I'm wrong," I heard the coldness in his voice, but I had no way of answering because he was right.
"Roza, I love you, and I've been in this profession as a guardian much longer than you have. But you still have your whole life ahead of you. If I died tomorrow, you would still be able to fall in love all over again. But if you died, that would've been the end of my life right then and there," He told me.
"You're wrong…" I whispered while crying.
"Excuse me?" He asked.
"You're wrong. I wouldn't be able to fall in love again," I stated.
"And why is that?" He asked in a formal tone.
"Because I would've already died trying to protect you first," I answered.
"No you will not!" He yelled. "Never are you to give up your life for me, is that clear Rosemarie Isabelle Hathaway?" He turned to me with a glare.
"No," I answered. My body was shaking now.
"No you don't understand?" He asked again. "Rose, I'm trying to protect you here. Let me do my job, okay?" He asked in a gentler voice now.
"Guardian Belikov," He froze when I called his name like that. Feeling defeated, I stood up to leave.
"Rose…" He pulled my hand. I took my hand back quickly and started dressing again in the still wet clothes.
"You're really an idiot," I told him before leaving. "Maybe I shouldn't have come in the first place," Then I shut the door behind me, finally sobbing when he couldn't hear me. Why was he being such an ass? Was it wrong of me to worry about him or something? I started to leave the hospital when Dr. Williams saw me.
"Rosemarie, where are you going? You have to get dried off or else you'll get sick," He stopped me.
"I'd rather die than hear what I just heard from him," I left the hospital finally even though it was still pouring rain. My tears mixed with the rain as I just stood right outside the hospital.
"Rosemarie," I looked up to see Kevin standing in front of me.
"Don't mess with me, Kevin. Not right now," He took a step closer nonetheless. That gave him, in return, a shock from my darkness. "This is your fault, so don't you dare come close to me!" I yelled. Kevin stopped.
"Rosemarie, I'm not with the other Strigoi right now. Right now, I'm your ally," He told me. I didn't trust him anymore. Earlier he had shut off almost all his feelings for me. "I followed you here to see what worried you so much and then I heard the argument," He told me softly.
"I'm going home. I've had enough…" I told Kevin. Kevin stopped me.
"At least let me make it up to you and take you back to the academy," He quickly added.
"You're going to take me back to father. I'm not that stupid," I kept walking.
"Rosemarie, I'm serious. You're going to die from a cold if you keep staying outside," He warned me.
"Then let it be on your watch then. I'm sure father will have a fun time killing you because I died," After that I left him at the hospital entrance while I walked back. By the time I got back, the rain had stopped, but I was soaked through again. I headed back to Dimitri's room where I just sobbed. I felt as if someone had just ripped my heart out. It was painful. Then there was a knock at the door.
"Rose, it's Ryan, can I come in?" I didn't answer. He started to turn the door knob.
"GO AWAY!" I screamed. He opened the door nonetheless. Jesus Christ did anyone listen to me anymore? I shocked him with a spark, warning him to back off.
"Woah. Rose, calm down, I'm not going to hurt you!" I shot a second spark at him.
"GET. OUT." I warned him. He was smart though so he quickly left me to drown in my own miseries. Eventually I cried myself to sleep at some point only knowing that I wished I had never woken up today.
The next day…
As I woke up, I saw the clock. 5 AM read the clock. I had been asleep for almost twenty four hours. When I looked around, I was still in my same clothes from yesterday. I quickly took them off and changed seeing as how they were still a bit wet. Deciding to leave the room, I opened the door.
"Rose," I looked up to see Dimitri. I walked past him, ignoring him. I had no intention to talk to him like this. "Rose, wait, we have to talk," He grabbed my wrist.
"Let go…" I whispered.
"And what if I don't?" He asked back. I sent a surge of darkness to my wrist, shocking him. He suddenly let go.
"Then I'll make you," After that, I left him on his own. I heard him open and close his door, but I couldn't care less. When I went outside, it was finally quiet. Students were asleep so technically, I had the whole place to myself and taking advantage of that, I went to the gym to train. I hadn't trained in a while and I was starting to get out of practice. The gym was empty so I summoned a spell. "Illusion's magic!" I imagined the forest I was in when I had to save Dimitri. No one was in the illusion but me, making it easy to train. As I headed to the giant tree, I imagined the Strigoi that were there. Suddenly the battlefield changed and I looked. Abe was standing in almost what looked to be training grounds or a battle stadium.
"You're up early," He told me.
"Yeah, slept too much," I told him. He didn't need to know the details.
"Do you want me to help you with your training?" He asked me. I nodded.
"Is there anything else I can do with these powers besides spells?" I asked.
"Of course. You can create anything from your imagination as long as you have a firm image on it," Abe closed his eyes and suddenly a sword started forming on its own. "See? Easy. Try it. Uh…please don't create a weapon. Those are harder. Start with something small, an animal would do. That would lead to summons and these can help you depending what you create. When the final battle happens, you'll be undoubtedly pitted against Kevin if not your own father and only then it will be a battle of creativity and imagination," Abe instructed.
"Alright," I closed my eyes and thought of an animal. What would I create? Then the first thing that came up was as dragon. Hmm, interesting. I focused in making a vivid image of the dragon. A silver dragon, sharp claws, big wings, everything a dragon was supposed to have.
"Woah…" I opened my eyes and right in front of me, my dark powers started to make a dragon.
"So in this situation, to finish the summon, say, "I call forth the dragon of darkness!"" He told me.
"I call forth the dragon of darkness!" I yelled. A gust of wind blew into the gym and the dragon's formation was complete. A live dragon was living and breathing in front of me.
"Give it a command," Abe encouraged.
"Sit," The dragon looked away and ignored me.
"I really hope you're not that stupid. A dragon is a royal creature. You don't treat it like a pet unless you want a bunny rabbit instead, kiz," I laughed nervously. Yikes.
"Follow me," I told the dragon. As we left to the outside, the dragon started to flap it's wings, feeling the air beneath them. "Can I get on?" I asked the dragon.
"Rose, you created the dragon, you're the master of it. No need for permission. Just hold on," I climbed onto the dragon's back. I held onto the dragon's spikes on the its' back.
"Let's fly!" The dragon took off at an amazing speed. I guess my imagination made it strong.
"There's no need to tell the dragon instructions. Use your mind! That's what imagination is for! Use your mind to transfer instructions!" Abe yelled from the ground. I nodded and looked at the direction I wanted to head to. The dragon did as I thought and flew in a circle around the school's clock tower. As I paid attention to the school campus, the dragon's flight wavered. "Stay focused on your flight pattern!" He yelled. I looked straight and saw a tree. Crap. The dragon dodged it and I shut my eyes. When I looked back, I sighed.
"Man, that was close," My heart beat quickly, but calmed quickly too. If this was my real power, this wasn't bad at all. Finally I landed the dragon and got off. That was fun and…dangerous… I laughed a bit as I got off. I was going to have a hell of a time learning this dark power stuff.
Not much to say. Hope you guys had a nice thanksgiving break for those of you who celebrate it. So, if you enjoyed this, review, please and thank you!