Chapter four
I woke up on the couch, with a plate on my lap and a half-empty cup of coffee on the small dining table. I sat up groggily, still half asleep, and looked at the time on the clock, which was sitting on my bed side table. Crap. I'd accidentally fallen asleep eating lunch and had slept right through seventh period.
I was supposed to be on duty, and the bell for the end of class was about to ring. Hopefully someone realised I wasn't there and covered for me. I usually never missed duty but I hadn't had an ounce of sleep since the long plane trip last night. It had drained all the energy out of me.
I should get moving, I told myself. Eighth period was about to start and I was on duty in another one of Guardian Alto's classes.
As I was about to stand up, my phone made a beeping sound and vibrated in my pocket. Startled, I took it out and looked at the screen, which showed I had two new inbox messages.
I opened the first one, which was from Alberta. Belikov, you weren't on duty seventh period, so I had Guardian Chase cover for you. Don't worry, you can thank me later. Alberta.
I ran my hand through my slightly tousled hair and let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, Alberta had realised I was off duty and had done the right thing by asking Guardian Chase to cover for me. I would have to take one of Guardian Chase's shifts tomorrow as a way of saying thank you.
I clicked on the second message, which was addressed to Alberta and I only. It was from headmistress Kirova. You are both off duty last period due to a small staff meeting regarding Miss Hathaway. It shouldn't take long- there are things we need to discuss. Come to my office when the bell goes. Kirova.
It looked like I was in luck; I didn't have to go on duty last period either. The bell rang loudly and I quickly scooped up my plate and coffee cup heading over to the sink. I tipped the rest of my coffee down the sink and gave it a quick rinse as well as my plate, leaving them to dry. I grabbed my jacket as I walked out the door, locking it behind me.
I knocked quietly on the headmistress's door. "Come in, Belikov" I head Kirova call from inside. Slowly turning the handle and pushing the door open- I stepped into her office and closed the door. "Please, sit." She said beckoning to the same chair Rose had sat in this morning when getting lectured about her decision to run away with the princess. How ironic, now I felt like the badass, sitting in the same chair she had. Alberta smiled at me as I sat down next to her in front of the headmistress's desk.
"So…" The headmistress began, "I presume you know why, you both, are here. It's regarding Miss Hathaway. I want you two to spy on her." Kirova folded her arms on the desk and let her words sink in.
"What for?" Alberta asked, confused.
"Well as you know, Rose likes to cause trouble and tends not to follow the rules. I believe she will break protocol in a matter of days. This is why you two will be watching her when she does. Each one of you will take turns spying on her. One of you will be watching Rose and the other will be watching Vasilisa in every one of their classes. Alberta will follow Rose after she finishes training with Belikov to make sure she goes straight to her room and not off to see Vasilisa or one of her dhampir friends. One wrong move and she's out of here. It's time the Moroi princess made some more suitable friends-Rose won't allow her to do that, she will set the wrong impression and I won't allow it." Kirova said smugly.
"You have to give Rose a chance to prove herself. I do believe she's serious about obeying protocol. I watched her in Guardian Alto's class this morning and she behaved herself, so I don't think what you are asking is truly necessary. She will eventually find out she's being watched and that will put her even more on edge." I explained. Alberta nodded her head in agreement.
"Belikov is right. I don't think spying on Rose's every move is necessary. She is beginning to realise the seriousness of her actions and so far she is obeying protocol. She was pretty upset this morning in Guardian Alto's class, when he made her stand up in front of the class, lecturing her about the seriousness and stupidity of her actions." Alberta explained calmly.
Kirova's eyebrows furrowed and the corners of her lips turned down into a frown. "Well then…" She huffed. "I suppose you two know all about Miss Hathaway's every move then? However I have known Rose nearly her whole life. She is not one to obey orders or keep herself in line. If you think the moroi princess has caused Miss Hathaway to be serious for once in her life you are sadly mistaken!" she informed us. Alberta and I grimaced.
I really shouldn't be trying to defend Rose when I hadn't known her for that long. I didn't know anything about her past or what her feelings were towards her peers and instructors. However, here I was, clearly defending her, but what the headmistress was saying sounded completely out of character with Rose's actions and qualities I have so far witnessed.
Rose's personality so far told me she was rude, obnoxious, cocky, ill-mannered, confident, mischievous and deceiving. So why was I sticking up for someone like that? Was it because I could clearly see she had true potential to become a great guardian, and being bonded with Vasilisa gave her the motivation she needed to succeed? Or was it because the harshness of her crime was being too seriously punished and I felt sympathetic towards her? I didn't know which reason it was but I knew I would try harder with Rose and get her up to the level the other novices were at. That was, if she decided to become serious about her training and her school work.
I didn't know why she had run away in the first place but she would have to have a pretty good reason for taking Vasilisa with her, seeing as she cared for her so much. Also, if Rose wasn't seriously dedicated, then I was wasting my time training with her. If she continued on like this, she would be sent away to live with her mother, or, if she was lucky, she would be sent to another Academy, probably half way across the country, far away from the moroi princess. I promised myself I wouldn't let it come to that.
"I still think she deserves a chance to prove herself, regardless of her previous behaviour in the past." I told her pointedly.
"Previous behavior? Previous behavior? Belikov, before she and Vasilisa ran away Rose was like this. She hasn't changed at all in the last two years! She's still the same undisciplined, unskilled, rude bitch as last time! If you think my warnings and set of rules will keep her in line, you are wrong. She has broken plenty of rules before and she will do it again. You want to know why? I'll tell you why... because absolutely nothing has changed about her. Rose is Rose and will always be like this, unless someone takes her away from Vasilisa. She won't listen to anyone else and the princess hides behind her! Vasilisa needs to step out on her own, otherwise the other royal Moroi will never take her seriously. Vasilisa needs to be heard! She is a growing force and will rise in power as she gets older. We cannot have her hanging around a bad influence that will only hold her back, can we?" Kirova raised her eyebrows and gave us a questioning look.
"No, we can't" Alberta agreed, shaking her head sadly from side to side. "So how will we take turns spying on Rose?"
"Hmm, well, either Belikov or you will be in every single one of the girl's classes but you will continuously switch. When Belikov is watching Rose you will watch Vasilisa and vice-versa. I don't think either of them will suspect a thing unless she turns around and see's you looking at her. Alberta, you will have to be extra careful following Rose when she leaves training sessions with Belikov. Make sure she goes straight to her dorm and if she breaks protocol, inform me immediately. Understood?"
Alberta and I nodded. The headmistress cleared her throat and opened one of the draws in her desk. Alberta and I sat in silence as the headmistress rummaged through the papers in her draw. Smiling stiffly, she pulled out two pieces of paper with our names on it. She handed them to us.
"This is Rose and Vasilisa's timetable. I printed you each a copy with the lessons you will be on duty. With each lesson the girls have, you will swap places and mix it around a little. Guardian Chase will also take over once in a while to make it less obvious. Mix it around as much as you want so it is never the same; the girls won't suspect a thing then. Both of you will report to me once a week on the girls' progress, or, rather, Rose's failure. Okay?" Kirova spoke firmly.
"Yes," Alberta and I said at the exact same time.
"Good. You are both dismissed." Kirova said with a wave of her hand.
Alberta and I stood up and left just as the bell rang for the end of class. It was the end of the day for the students, and classes had finished. It was also time for my first training session with Rose, something I had looked forward to, but also dreaded for almost the entire day.
I walked briskly towards the gym where Rose would also be headed. Once I got there I quickly set up the gym equipment so we could start training as soon as she got here. It only took me five minutes to set it up, and Rose still hadn't arrived.
I looked at my phone, checking the time. Rose was already ten minutes late. Sighing I pulled out the timetable Kirova had given me. Scanning down the page I looked at Rose's last class. Slavic Art. That wasn't too far from the gym. She should've been here by now.
I headed over to the room she was supposed to be in. She wasn't there, so I kept on looking. I didn't have to look very far since I could see her in the distance talking to Vasilisa. As I approached none of the girls noticed and kept on talking. I just heard the end of the conversation.
"All right then," Rose said. "We'll see how it goes. If anything happens-anything at all-we leave. No arguments." Vasilisa nodded.
"Rose?" Both of their heads snapped up to look at me. "You're late for practice," I told her evenly. Looking over at Vasilisa I gave a polite nod "Princess." Rose quickly said goodbye and we walked away in silence. Kirova was right, Rose was planning to break protocol, and now I had evidence to prove it. Should I tell the headmistress and get Rose sent away immediately or should I keep it to myself and just keep an eye on Rose? No, I wouldn't tell on her. I would forget it ever happened and just continue on like normal. Sighing I turned to look at Rose who was walking glumly by my side. She looked up all of the sudden startled and froze.
"Rose?" I turned to look back at her. Her lips were parted slightly and she was looking straight ahead. Her shoulders were slumped and her eyes glazed over. She looked like a zombie. What was wrong with her? Shaking her slightly I continuously called her name. "Rose? Rose! What's happening? What's wrong? Tell me!" I ordered.
She didn't respond and my fear for her increased. What was happening to her? Was she having a vision or something? Was this part of the bond? Wait, I thought. That's what it was, the bond. She was seeing what Vasilisa was seeing. That's why her eyes were glazed over and she wasn't moving. She wasn't in her body anymore. She was in Vasilisa's. I waited for a long time, all the while Rose stood there still as a statue not saying anything. All of the sudden she whimpered and I looked up at her. Her eyes were still glazed over, so I presumed she was still in the princess's mind seeing what she saw.
"Christian!" she gasped in horror.