Author Notes:
I definitely do not claim any of the original characters, although I have yet to really make up my own and put names to them. The Vampire Academy characters rightfully belong to Richelle Mead. But we knew that already, right? After all, this is a fan fiction ;)
I know that last chapter had a lot of background from the book, so forgive me if you didn't appreciate it. Let's see how this next chapter folds out.
I do apologize for how long it takes me to write a chapter, but at least my chapters aren't short. I try to take the time and do them right, try being the key word there.
I'm sorry for skimping on the detail when it comes to the tarot cards. It is a big enough deal to put the subject in there, but not big enough for me to spend several hours researching the intricacies of the tarot cards. If I had actually been writing my own book, I probably would have done the research.
Don't be afraid to review or send me a message ^.^
So it's taking me around 3-4 days to really write a chapter, but at least this chapter is 15 pages long!
Chapter Two
I faintly registered a very annoying sound, although I was still too groggy yet to place it. I had been asleep, in a very very deep sleep. And let me tell you, it was wonderful. The sound was still piercing on, to my discomfort. But it was being effectual. I supposed this was the alarm telling me to get up for the day. I remembered now what happened last night. Dimitri and I had spent several hours worshiping each other's bodies. Although my eyes were still closed, I couldn't help but smile at the thought. Every time we had finished and felt nearly exhausted, a well-placed touch on my thigh or lower back, or even a kiss on my neck or collar bone would shoot electricity through my body. This electricity reanimated, and recharged our depleted energy sources. One could say we were the energizer bunnies last night, although I certainly didn't feel like it now. I didn't want to move and fully awake from my slumber. I felt the warrior battle god of a Dhampir that I had worshiped last night stir beside me. Even in his sleepy state, he still moved gracefully as he pushed the snooze button. I had been curled up beside him, facing him in our bed. I slowly peered through one eye at the man beside me, partially wanting to remain stubborn in waking from my groggy state but also wanting to see him. It still amazed me how I was blessed to wake up next to him every morning. I hadn't gotten used to it yet. How did I get so lucky?
Literally, let's think about it. First, our love was forbidden. Secondly, Dimitri had become undead. Thirdly, after being healed, he had felt too ashamed to love me. Fourthly, I had been claimed by another man… And then to top it all off, I had died. It's like the odds were stacked in opposition of us. If we were such star-crossed lovers, how had we made it here today? Maybe there was a god after all. I had battled with my belief in him off and on over the years. My mother, was an atheist, so maybe I had acquired my skepticism from her. But if this, and everything I had survived in my entire life was some sort of proof, maybe there was someone looking out for me. Maybe I had a kick ass guardian angel. Maybe there was a twin of Dimitri who was my guardian angel. My mind shifted back to the present as the man who had brought me to innumerable orgasms last night, rose from the bed. He glided over to the bathroom. I heard the toilet seat rise, and soon after I heard Dimitri relieving himself. It was only human nature, right?
I finally decided to stretch and fully accept waking up for the day. Stretching felt absolutely amazing, so I flopped around on the bed, doing all sorts of stretching in my attempt to wake up. Why couldn't I shake this grogginess? I was in my own little world until I heard that Russian accented chuckle that I so adored. I snapped to attention to find Dimitri leaning against the bathroom door frame, looking down on me in affection. He was always looking down on me, since he was a giant. And I'm pretty sure that 6'7" put him into giant classification, at least in my book. He was a WHOLE foot taller than me, and I wasn't exactly short for a Dhampir. Compared to Moroi, yeah I was short, but as far as Dhampir and humans went, I was pretty normal-ish size.
"How does someone so small manage to take up an entire bed?" He teased, letting that accent he knew drove me crazy hang thick in the air.
"I'm not that small." I quipped back, not moving from what I had found out was an utterly comfortable position.
"You are small in comparison to me." He said, still smiling. "Small, but deadly." I couldn't help but grin at that last part. I was still tired, but I knew our day had to begin. I had Lissa's note to think about. She wanted to see me today, and I was her guardian after all. I jumped up from the bed, portraying more energy than I actually felt. I needed some coffee or something. And some food. Sugar to be more exact. Yes, then I would feel more awake. I made my way into the bathroom, so I could prepare myself for my day. Dimitri smacked my ass as I passed him. I couldn't help but shoot him a look while grinning like a Cheshire cat.
I had decided to eat on the go. I had grabbed four donuts, a full strength coffee and a coke. The bottled coke was currently hanging out awkwardly in my leather jacket's pocket as I sipped on my extremely hot coffee and devoured my first donut. We had decided to check in with Hans, making sure he had no other plans for us before we checked in with our charges. I was Lissa's guardian, and Dimitri's was Christian's. Christian Ozera was Lissa's boyfriend. Now that he was shacking up regularly with the Queen of the vampiric world, he probably did need a guardian. And to be honest, it was hard to get a better guardian that Dimitri. This also meant that we could be spending a lot of time together. Sure, it wouldn't be us hanging out, but at least we could see one another, be around each other.
By the time we reached Lissa's Queenly suite, I had already demolished all of my donuts, and finished off my coffee. By the look Dimitri was giving me, I think he was still surprised after all this time how easily I could polish off some food. I was able to throw away the paper plate and Styrofoam cup before Lissa actually saw us. Now I only had to coke in my pocket for emergency situations if I couldn't keep alert. Walking up to the suite, it felt weird not to be able to reach out to Lissa's mind. I couldn't check her feelings before I got there. I was disheartened, but at least she would be able to tell me first hand. Dimitri knocked on the door, and a couple of guardians opened them for us, allowing us entry. Being at Court, Lissa had a whole drove of guardians whose job was solely to keep her safe, and her company. As her friend, I typically played a 'near' guard, as Dimitri did with Christian. As soon as I walked further into Lissa's chambers, she ran up and hugged me. I hugged her back tightly. She was my best friend, and the closest I had to a sister. She was family in my opinion. Someone I would die for. She acknowledged Dimitri before grabbing my hand and pulling me to a couch. This was a formal reception area in her suite. She also had a personal living room, personal bathroom, one bedroom, guest bathroom, and a foyer. Dimitri went to stand near Christian, who stayed in Lissa's suite nearly every night, while Lissa started in on me.
"Oh Rose! I'm so glad you have returned. I'm sorry I couldn't see you last night. I had a lot of things to wrap up and take care of so we could have some time to ourselves today!" She beamed, seeming so excited. I raised an eyebrow. Time to ourselves? She obviously noted my skeptical features.
"I want to hear all about how things went in Siberia, and how things are going in general." She said, eyeing Dimitri. Things had been pretty hectic ever since she had been crowned queen. We hadn't exactly had the time to catch up, although she had frequently checked in on me after my escape from death a second time. "So I booked us a spa day for girls' time. We are going to end the day by having dinner with our close friends tonight. I spent all day yesterday getting everything in order so that we could have the entire day to ourselves. Invitations for the dinner have already been sent out, and as my guardian, you are not entitled to miss it." She said eyeing me with a matter of factly tone in her voice at the end. She knew that I didn't exactly want to have dinner in a formal setting with our 'friends'. It was assumed that Adrian Ivashkov, would be one of those invited to dinner. He was one of the few known spirit users in the world, and he had been practicing his powers with Lissa to see what they could accomplish. They had grown to be good friends. All would be well if I hadn't dated him, and then shattered his heart. I guess I would have to fill Lissa in on what had happened last night.
"We are having a girl's day? Don't you have more queenly duties to take care of?" I asked, not expecting to have this on my agenda today.
"I've been working hard, Rose. I deserve some time off, and I planned it for right after you returned. So that's final." She said, with that royal air of hers. I looked over at Christian, who had been amazingly quiet this entire time.
"And what, Mr. Devoted over here isn't going to miss spending the day with his precious Lissa?" I asked, obviously towards Christian. I couldn't help but tease him, being we were both smart asses. He shrugged off my comments.
"I'll get to see her tonight, plus I am my own man, and I do have other things that I must attend to." He said lazily.
"Oh, I'm sorry Lord Ozera, please return to your vast estate and business to run." I said mockingly. He scoffed.
"You know Rose, I could get used to you calling me Lord." He said with a suggestive smirk on his face. I rolled my eyes, smiling. Dimitri just sat and observed our playful banter. Christian walked over to Lissa and kissed her in what looked like a sweet way. Now that we weren't teasing each other, I could tell he had a sad look in his eye, and I knew it had nothing to do with leaving Lissa for a couple hours.
Tasha Ozera was his aunt, and had practically raised him after his parents had CHOSEN to turn themselves Strigoi. As one can imagine- that was a big deal. Being turned against your will was one thing…. But to kill another by drinking too much blood, purposefully, and choosing an eternity of evil was completely different. Tasha had protected him, and been his family. It couldn't be easy now that Tasha was behind bars for killing the former Queen, which she had framed me for. Plus, Tasha was the one who fired the gun at Lissa, and I had taken that bullet for her. Tasha had committed treason, but she was still Christian's aunt. He must be dealing with this emotional trauma on some level. Lissa bade Christian good bye, and both Lissa and I watched as our men walked out of the room together. Lissa turned to me excitedly.
"Let's go, our appointment is soon!" She giggled as she took my hand, and led me out of the room, after both the boys had a head start on us.
"You booked appointments? What if I couldn't have come today?" I asked skeptically, but I was actually glad. It was going to be fun to spend some alone time with Lissa.
"I knew you were coming in last night, and I had already talked to Hans. I'm Queen, I can pull some strings and get you where I want you to be. People seem to listen when the Queen speaks." She commented. We teased back and forth, and arrived at the spa, giggling like two teenagers. Well… I guess we were both still technically teenagers. She was a teen Queen so to speak. Both of us were 18, straight out of the Academy. The wait staff at the spa, located conveniently here at court, immediately admitted us, and the two other guardians charged with following us down to the spa. They were both men, but they would wait outside the door to our room, making sure we were safe. With the change of the new queen, and the controversy around how young Lissa was as our new queen, three guardians was the ABSOLUTE minimum that Hans would let around her at all times of the day. Hans was in charge of the guardians here at court. He didn't personally guard the Queen, but he ran the entire guardian operation. If I were to guess, that wasn't easy. Lissa and I were scheduled for hour long massages. Full body massages at that. We laid down on our massage beds, with towels over our bodies and immediately began chatting away.
"You HAVE to tell me about Russia!" She exclaimed. She had been so excited that Dimitri and I were getting a 'vacation' alone together. I told her all about Dimitri's family, and hunting down the Strigoi that had killed many humans close to his home town of Baia. I told her about how easily his family had accepted me all over again, even Viktoria, who I had left on bad terms with. I talked about how they had given us our own room to share. They had basically treated me like his widow when we had a memorial service for him when I had first met them, and now they basically treated me like his wife. I told her how amazing it was to see him in his home habitat, to where last time it was painful to look around and imagine him everywhere. My last trip to Siberia had been a trip of pain. This time I was a trip full of smiles. I had even hinted that I had convinced Dimitri to help me join the mile high club.
"Rose! You are so bad!" She said, giggling. "I was the first one to have sex, and yet here you are, doing things I wouldn't have even thought about!" She faked chastising me.
"Well, with Dimitri being a giant, there wasn't a lot of room left in those tiny plane cubicles. It would be a lot easier with you and Christian." I muttered.
"Rose!" I swear, if I could have seen her face right then, it would be cherry red from blushing. She continued, almost shyly at the topic. "So… it's going well in that area then?" She hinted at her meaning.
"Sex?" I said bluntly. "Oh yeah. After watching me die, he couldn't hold himself back anymore. He had almost lost me. We don't want to regret not living our lives if something were to happen to us in our line of duty." I said easily, but then continued on more hesitantly. "But we had reunited before we ever came back to court and ousted Tasha for the traitor she is. Dimitri opened back up, and the magnetism was impossible to ignore. Sonya Carp could read me like a book, no matter how hard I tried to deny it, or move on. Even when we tried to ignore our feelings for one another, everyone around us assumed we were an item. Towards the end of that…. trip, we couldn't ignore the forces of the universe that were pulling us together." I finished, wanting Lissa to understand how there couldn't have possibly been any other outcome. Dimitri was my one. I knew that so easily. I could feel her uncomfortableness about the topic as we were both getting massaged separately.
"Adrian and I have talked some…. He told me you cheated on him." She said sadly, and very softly. She was definitely not being accusatory. This was Liss, just getting a topic in the open.
"What did he want me to do? Break up with him in a dream? I felt like that was as bad as breaking up in a text message. I wanted to do it in person. I wanted to do it after I cleared my name. I hadn't expected him to come with Mikhail that day. I hadn't expected him to see Dimitri kiss my forehead as he worried about my fate at court. I know I messed up by sleeping with Dimitri while we were gone, but it literally happened right before we went back to court. And you weren't there, you didn't feel all the sexual tension in the air. You couldn't have cut it with a knife, Liss, it was too thick. You would have needed a jackhammer for that. But…. I didn't mean to hurt Adrian like that, I really didn't. But in the end, I had to be with who I felt like I am MEANT to be with Liss." I wanted her to understand so badly. I didn't want her to think poorly of me. I didn't know what she thought, but I heard her laugh a little at the jackhammer comment.
"Rose, I hadn't thought you intentionally meant to hurt Adrian. I guess I can understand how you would want to break it off in person… And I can understand that if you were going to be executed for a crime you didn't commit, how you could want to reconnect with the one person who meant the most to you. But it's still not going to be easy around Adrian for quite a while." She finished.
"Oh I know. You didn't see what happened last night." I sighed. She almost jumped off of her massage table.
"WHAT?!" She knew she was missing something. So I filled her in on the scene we had created last night in the restaurant. She listened intently. "Rose, this may be hard for you, but I need you to take it easy on Adrian. He might need to yell at you, but try not to start anything with him. Be the bigger person." She stated. Under my breath I said something along the lines of, why did everyone think I was so small today, but she didn't hear me.
"I told him before I left for Siberia, that I hoped we could actually be friends. I didn't mean it as some cheesy break up line. So… I'll try Liss." I paused before continuing, "He's going to be there tonight huh?"
"Yeah." She said softly. "But I have you sitting near your parents, not him. He is going to sit near Christian and Jill."
"You realize with Dimitri and I coming, this table is going to need assigned seating since the situation is so volatile." I had said with audible hesitation.
"Oh I already have that covered." She started. She was the 'man' with the plan so to speak. "On everyone's plate is a card with their name on it, kind of like at a wedding." I almost jolted up by the mention of 'wedding'.
"Lissa! I didn't tell you that did I?" I started. "While I was in Baia with Dimitri's family, his grandmother, who fancies herself a seer, basically predicted our wedding!" She looked up at me, regardless that our faces were suppose to be down into the face rest on the massage table. Our eyes connected.
"You look like you aren't entirely happy with that prediction. The way you talk about him, it's like he is the one though Rose." She hesitated. "Do you think you don't want to marry him? Are you afraid your relationship isn't that strong?" She asked, trying to figure me out. I sighed.
"It's not that. Dimitri is the best thing that ever happened to me. But I can imagine it's the same reason you aren't jumping into marrying Christian. We have known them close to a year now, why rush into it? Plus we are both only eighteen… What if I don't want to get married before I am twenty?" I asked. We continued to look at each other while our massages continued. She looked deep in thought.
"When I think about you and Dimitri, it just feels… ever lasting… like it is the most certain thing in the world. I see what your aura looks like when you're around him, and Rose, it's nearly blinding. When you two are together and I look at your auras, it's kind of like staring into the sun, or watching some sort of nuclear reaction. I guess that all over rode the short time you've actually known him, or how young we are… Those thoughts just never crossed my mind when it came to you two. Now, Christian and I are a different story. I can't imagine getting married yet. I haven't even settled into my role as Queen!" She had almost looked awed when talking about Dimitri's and my auras. I couldn't help but smile.
"So you understand why the marriage thing irks me." I said, pausing before switching topics, "I look like a sun? Wasn't it too long ago that I was dark, and rimmed in shadows? Now I'm blinding?" She couldn't help but giggle. I paused for a moment. "Speaking of Christian, how is he taking it all?" I asked, a little worried about my pyromaniac friend. She faltered a little, looking down and seemingly collecting her thoughts.
"He is having a hard time, but it has been quite an adjustment. Tasha was his closest family, you know. He can't believe she framed you, or tried to shoot me. Plus, with my new title, it takes a lot of time away from us. We used to be able to spend a lot of time together, and now I have a lot of politics to work on, but that's why he spends a lot of time in my room. Late at night and during the night is sometimes all the time I have. I've been hoping that things will get better as we get used to my role as Queen." She stopped, regrouped and continued, "But College is starting soon, and you know he wont go. So I am pretty worried, Rose. But, if it is meant to be, it will…. Right?" She finished by looking back up at me, hoping I could rebuild her confidence. I felt almost at a loss, so I said the only thing I could.
"Christian is crazy about you Liss. I think he will make the most of what he has, even if it means he has to help you complete your homework to get to spend time with you." I said, managing a smile. After Christian had helped me research spirit, to ultimately help Lissa, I could totally see him helping her with her homework. We continued to talk about College. Lissa and I were set to attend Lehigh University, which was around an hour away from court. It was apparent that we would be shuffling a lot back and forth in order to do both College, and complete her queenly duties. Lissa had already appointed Ariana Szelsky, as a sort of temporary Regent. Ariana didn't have full powers, but could preside over court in place for Lissa, and handle emergency situations. Lissa had originally wanted Ariana to be Queen before it became clear that Lissa would be eligible. Unfortunately, Ariana didn't pass the last monarch test. Upon spending more time together, it became apparent that Ariana was very understanding of how Lissa wanted to rule, and they worked well together. Ariana had voted for Lissa, especially since the other remaining choices were nearly appalling. Ariana recognizes the potential Lissa harbors, and agrees with the future Lissa has hopes in achieving.
The plan, as far as college went, was to attend school during the bright of the day, meaning only late morning, into early afternoon classes. It made it a little bit more secure. I would be auditing the classes with her, along with a few other guardians. She had chosen a political science degree, since it had the greatest promises in helping her run the vampiric world. Great. That would mean I would have to sit through and listen to all those boooooring classes. It's not like I could take different classes. My goal was to guard Lissa. That's it. We had originally debated that should actually enroll with her, but after consideration I realized that I didn't want a degree in political science. I didn't want to do the homework, and take the tests. It was bad enough I would have to listen to the classes, but I would do anything for Liss. No, as far as I was concerned, my education days were over. I was personally just glad that auditing the classes was an option. It didn't take long for our massages to be over, and it was time for the next treat that Lissa had in store for us.
Lissa seemed very excited as she led my down a hallway that became increasingly familiar. Before long, although I didn't have to have the ability to reach into Lissa's head to know where we were going, I had figured it out on my own. The first time we had visited this spa, we had met an incredibly sexy Dhampir by the name of Ambrose. It turned out that he had been a lover of the former Queen, but that's not the part that had spurred my memory. The first time we were here, Ambrose had taken us to go see his aunt. She was a seer of sorts herself. Her name was Rhonda. To me, she was the gypsy lady. She had foretold our fortunes, including one where she basically forebode Dimitri turning into a Strigoi. Half of the time I felt like she was a fake though, and in the mood I was currently in, I didn't think she had a lot of credibility.
Lissa knocked on her door, and we heard Rhonda welcome us inside. She was a Moroi in her forties, with black hair and dark eyes. She had been anticipating our arrival. She already had her cards out and was carefully shuffling them.
"Ah, Queen Vasilisa, Guardian Hathaway, how very nice to see both of you again." She said, gesturing us to sit at the seats in front of her. Lissa murmured a greeting, but of course, I couldn't be so cordial.
"Hello Gypsy lady." I smiled. She stopped shuffling and looked at me.
"It's Romanian." She said. "But you already knew that." She went back to shuffling. Actually, I had forgotten. Gypsy is what had literally stuck in my head, no matter how many times she corrected me. "Let us see how we are doing, shall we?" She asked, but didn't wait for a response. She put the cards in front of Lissa, and Lissa knew it was a cue for her to cut the deck. She split it in half and then stacked them back into a single story again. Rhonda drew the cards back into her hand and started placing them down on the table. I watched Lissa. She basically held her breath as the cards revealed themselves on the table top. Rhonda seemingly studied them in depth, making curious noises every time her eyes jumped to a new card. The cards didn't look threatening, but Lissa was staring at them as if they could injure her. Finally, Rhonda's eyes flicked back up to Lissa.
"My dear, I assume you already realize just how fragile your rule as Queen is, at the moment." She said, only allowing Lissa to nod before continuing on. "These cards suggest an increasingly volatile situation. I see death in the future, although it is not necessarily your own. I also see carefully laid out plans that will have gone to waste. A major event is on the horizon that will change those plans. I see danger and despair in your future, yes… that is for certain. It will take you a while to quiet your kingdom. But here, look at this card, this one suggests that you will also have a strong, memorable rule. I see much potential here, you have the ability to do so much, as long as you can carefully maneuver the danger. But in my opinion, the best card is this one- it suggests that you have a close connection with the right group of people. These people will back you up, support you, and protect you as long as you remain on top of the situation. They are a group of friends, confidants, even people you work with well. Having a support group is a very valuable thing, Queen Dragomir." Said the gypsy, pointing to a new card with almost every new statement. At first Lissa had been paler than normal, but as the reading went on, she seemed to gain better news.
"Well, we already knew being Queen wasn't going to be easy. I guess I will have to learn to roll with the punches, and who I can trust." Rhonda nodded with this assessment, agreeing with Lissa.
"Just keep your eyes open, Your Majesty. Settle your rule on the throne before it gets thrown into possible chaos, and then you should be golden. It won't be easy though, or safe." Rhonda concluded. Lissa nodded, her head obviously reeling from all this new information. Rhonda gathered up the cards again, shuffling them in silence. She knew Lissa needed to think over her 'fortune'. Rhonda almost seemed to blank out, as if she were going over the reading in her mind as well, making sure she had made the right connections, told the right fortune. Maybe it was a gypsy superpower, but she never stopped shuffling in the meantime. Finally, she snapped out of it, and placed the cards in front of me. I cut the deck, just like Lissa had, and then made a new pile with them. She gathered the cards into her hands and then started laying them out on the table again. I couldn't help myself from making a retort.
"Please tell me it doesn't say 'you are the killer of the undead' again." I teased. This got a smile from Rhonda, but she kept studying the cards. She actually asked me questions, unlike Lissa.
"Is there a Moroi man in your life that you're intimate with, or want to be intimate with?" She asked. I frowned, and my eyebrows knit together. No, absolutely not. What type of question was that?
"No. I am in a very serious relationship with a Dhampir, and have ever truly been intimate with him." I commented, not seeing how my intimate relationships factored into things. She also frowned and made a 'hmmmm' noise.
"You're one of the Royal Guard, correct? One of Vasilisa's guards." She asked. I nodded. It was her turn for her brow to furrow in confusion. "Your path is very unclear this time." She mentioned, and I groaned. Not again. Here was going to be yet another vague prediction, I could see it coming a mile away. "This card suggests that you're path is steady, and true. I assume it means your path as a guardian. As always, you draw cards of swords. You were meant to protect the Queen, and you will. These cards suggest that you are her closest ally, and will continue to do so. But from there on, it becomes confusing. This card here… it suggests new life. But what type of new life could you have, when the cards very clearly suggest your path as a protector to your queen?" My mind immediately thought about the wonderful life Dimitri and I were building together. We were living our dream. We were both guardians, but we were still able to live together and be together. I snapped back to what Rhonda was saying. "That is why I asked about a Moroi lover, because it could have suggested a child, but that is very clearly out of the question as well. Genetically speaking, it's impossible. But that's not even all of the troubling part. You'll also be struggling, alone for a while, no one will be able to fully protect you from this struggle," she said while glancing over at Lissa. "This card right here signifies a journey. A new journey from what I can tell, a new path on life. This isn't insinuating any journeys that might be in tow from being a guardian of the Queen. So it's clearly confusing since it contradicts your very distinct path as a guardian, and the Queen's closest ally." She shook her head as she finished. "Rose Hathaway, I'll say you're definitely one to watch." My eyes darted to each of the cards she had pointed to. She had been so certain and yet so confused. Part of me wanted to write it all off as bullshit, but I had known better, didn't I? Didn't she kinda predict Dimitri's death?
I shook my head. No. She was reading into nothing. There was no real talent here. We bid our farewells, and Lissa and I made our way to our next appointment, quietly. I think we were both soaking up what Rhonda had told us. Although, I couldn't help but smile when I realized what Lissa had booked for us. We were both getting manicures and pedicures. It wasn't very often that I got to have this done. I wouldn't pay for it on a regular basis, since it wouldn't last very long. My 'violent' lifestyle made it to where I couldn't keep nails if my life depended on it. Although, I did enjoy them while they lasted. My eyes flicked around the room for inspiration as I debated what I wanted for my nails. I instantly saw something that caught my attention, and I knew it was what I wanted. On a mannequin hand, I saw a set of what could be best described as a type of chrome French manicure. The majority of the nails were a mat, medium silver grey, yet they managed to capture the light in beautiful ways. The tips of the French manicure were a flashy metallic silver or chrome. It could have been an accent on a rich luxury car. They reminded me of myself in a few ways. I could admit that sometimes I could be… flashy. I certainly loved to catch Dimitri's eye. And let's face it, my personality isn't exactly quiet. Some people would call me attention seeking. Let's just say that I didn't mind attention, I could handle well under pressure. And these nails, they looked like they liked attention as well. My manicurist was ready for me, and I told her exactly what I wanted. Of course it only made sense for my hands and feet to match. Well, it's not like I had this done very often, so I didn't exactly know the trends and etiquette of nails, but it felt right to get my hands and feet to match. I just knew what I liked.
Lissa and I chatted away with light conversation as they pampered both our hands and feet. It felt good. I was so used to using them as weapons, I barely registered the need to really take care of them. Lissa's hands and feet were a lot softer than mine, but then again, I had had a million blisters and calluses to her one. That was just the way of the world in these instances, and I didn't envy her for it. I would rather kill Strigoi before I had to change and oversee the politics of the entire vampiric world. At least my job was straight forward. But regardless, Lissa and I enjoyed the papering we received, although they had to scrub at my hands and feet infinitely longer than Lissa's. To make up for all that time, she chose to get intricate nail art. I was watching as they used these tiny brushes. I couldn't even see the bristles, these brushes were that tiny! But they still accomplished their jobs. These manicurists could paint the most amazing things on such tiny canvases as nails. By the time we left, our hands and feet were soft, and our nails looked amazing.
Lissa and I had spent the next several hours getting prim and proper for our dinner. It was a nice and relaxing atmosphere, and it had been entirely too long since I had spent three hours working on my makeup alone. And yes, that's totally a thing. Most of the time you have a simplified routine that takes minutes. This time though, we went through all the proper steps, turning our faces into masterpieces. We both had killer smokey eyes with wicked winged eyeliner. We had used different colors around our eyes of course. Since my eyes were brown, we had used whites, pinks and purples to create a stellar, sensual smokey eye. It almost appeared to bring a lot of warmth and passion to my eyes. For Lissa's smokey eye choice, we chose pale golds, greens and dark blues. It really emphasized her eyes, which only showed and accentuated her royal heritage. And as far as I was concerned, the Dragomirs were the best royal line… but there was no way I could be biased right? Naw.
Lissa had chosen a dress for me, much like she had done at the equinox dance back at St. Vladimirs. This time I hadn't gotten the chance to see it though, or even know about its existence until it was brought up to her suite via room service. Both of our gowns were brought up this way.
"No way." I exclaimed, knowing what was happening when I saw two dress bags. She looked over at me cheerfully.
"Of course Rose, and wait until you see it!" She said, excitedly.
"NO, you already knew that I can't accept gifts like this-" I had started to say, but my jaw had kinda dropped when she had pulled my dress out of its bag. To put it simply, it was gorgeous. It was a general red- violet color with a sheer black over layer. It allowed pops of bright red violet at times, depending on how tightly the two layers were pressed together, but also was dark and beautiful. The coloring just oozed sultry and sexy. It was a one shoulder dress. The red violet under layer went thinly across my shoulder, down to fully cover my abundant cleavage and stopped a couple inches below my crotch. The black sheer layer actually gave me a sleeve down the arm closest to my shoulder, following the rest of the trim of the under layer until it reached the bottom hem. The sheer layer was cut in a high-low fashion, being higher in the front, but still longer than the under layer, and definitely longer in the back. After wrenching my eyes away from the dress, I stared up at Lissa. How could she expect me to wear this? It was beautiful. Now I understood why she had wanted me to wear these particular colors in my smokey eye. "Lissa, it's too much, I can't-" I started again.
"No, I bought it specifically for you Rose. Don't make me compel you to wear it." She said, giving me a look. I looked at her back, we both knew she would never use compulsion on me unless she absolutely had to, and it would have to be a life and death situation. "And besides, I never got to properly thank you for taking a bullet for me," she said smiling radiantly. She knew exactly how to wear me down.
"Fine, but this is all the gratuity I can take from you. I am doing my JOB by protecting you. I don't do it for tips." I said, striding over and taking the dress from her. She was still smiling.
"I know, but it does help having your best friend as Queen." She was very cheery. She could see how much I liked the dress. It almost felt like we were two young girls again, playing dress up in her room. Even though I had always been a tom boy, playing dress up with Lissa had always been fun. We laughed together, and loved making each other feel beautiful. Maybe that is why we had both grown up being pretty self-confident in our appearance. As children we had constantly reinforced our beauty to one another. So what if no one else ever saw it, we believed in each other. Of course, the rest of the world could see it, and we had both certainly appreciated it.
I slipped away into a closet to try on my new dress. Before actually wearing it, I had slipped the fabric through my fingers. It felt light, sexy and expensive. When I put it on I realized just how soft the material was, and airy. I kind of felt like I was wearing a cloud, not that I looked fat or 'fluffy' in anyway. I looked into the mirror. Wow. This dress clung to my curves in all the right ways, and yet it didn't feel heavy in ways other dresses could. I could still move in this dress. I felt like I could really breathe, like the dress was also breathing on its own accord. I pulled on a pair of strappy standardly sexy heels I had grabbed from my apartment on the way back from the spa. I was walking out of the closet, looking down at my dress, running my hands over the airy material, when something shiny caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. I looked up, and my jaw literally dropped. It was Lissa.
I was just now seeing the dress in the second bag for the first time. She had changed in this empty room simultaneously while I was changing in the closet. There was, thankfully, mirrors out here as well. I had known Lissa was Queen, but she really looked it right now. She was breathtaking. The dress was pretty simple, but that only added to the effortless elegance she was currently bathing in at the moment. It was a spaghetti strap dress, with a decently modest sweetheart cut covering her cleavage. From there it clung slightly to her ribcage and hips, but also flowed around her. It must also be made out of some sort of airy material. The dress ended about mid-calf, getting more sheer the closer to her feet it got. It was a simple cut, but it accented her straight Moroi body type excellently. But it was the color that had originally caught my eye. It was a pale gold that closely mirrored the color she had added in her eye shadow pallet. This material though, it shimmered and shined, catching every sparse ray of light it could. It looked like it could have been made out of tiny gems. It made Lissa look ethereal. She was a picture of Moroi perfection. She adorned a pair of gold heels that had also been sent along with the dresses. We had both fixed our hair down in wavy locks, although Lissa's was wavier than mine. She has basically curled her hair, I had just blow dried mine. We looked stunning and we knew it. We probably didn't have to get so dressed up for a family and close friends dinner, but we were enjoying ourselves. The last touch for Lissa was a tiny tiara. It was perfect for this close intimate setting with friends, but still registered her as Queen.
The dinner was set to happen in Lissa's building, but apart from her suite. There were many such rooms readily available to the Queen's disposal without having to intrude on her personal space. When we walked into the room, all eyes were upon us. Okay, maybe it helped that the guardians had insisted on announcing her before entry. Looking around, we were the last to arrive. Everyone had dressed up some as well, although Lissa and I completely stole the show. It was clear by the looks on everyone's faces. It looks like everyone had gotten the memo to dress up though.
After my initial glance around the room, my eyes landed on Dimitri. For a moment, he was the only one in the room for me. By the look on his face, he was thinking the same thing. He was seemingly frozen, except for those eyes. His eyes were all over me, looking me up and down. He was holding a glass, and it had been partially raised to his lips when I walked in the door. Since then, he hadn't moved. For once, he wasn't wearing his signature leather duster. He was wearing a suit. Even in a suit, he looked stunningly handsome. He was definitely tall dark and handsome, and all mine. After drinking him in, I finally moved, and started on a path right for him.
"Hey comrade, don't you feel naked without your signature duster-" I had started, but when I had reached Dimitri, he had finally moved. In a swift, fluid motion, he had set his glass down on an end table that he had conveniently been standing near, grabbed me, pulled me closer, and then dipped me backwards before planting a deep kiss onto my lips. I couldn't help but smile like a fool and kiss him back, my arms wrapping around his neck. At that moment, nothing else mattered in the entire world. Hell, the only things existing in the world was his lips on mine. It felt like the big bang when the universe was supposedly born. He finally stopped kissing me, but kept his face close to mine. I could finally recognize again that there were other things existing in the world, and other people in the room. But that couldn't wipe the smile off of my face.
"And to think comrade, I'm not even wearing a lust charm this time." I said teasing him, still dipped backwards while he was basically bowed over me. The old Dimitri back at St. Vladimir's had needed a lust charm in order to act so impulsively upon seeing me in such a sultry fashion. Not this Dimitri, we no longer had a need to hold ourselves back. Dimitri smiled widely and righted me to a vertical position while whispering in my ear, "Roza, I can't wait to get you out of that dress." Only I could hear him, and the lust in his voice. It amazed me how statements like that still caused my body to burn with passion, after how many times we had slept together lately. I'm pretty sure I was blushing all the way down to my cleavage.
Now that I was vertical again, I looked over the room again to see who all was here. I saw my mother and father (Janine Hathaway and Abe Mozur), Lissa and Christian (who looked like he was just as enraptured by Lissa as Dimitri had been by me), Jill, and then….. Adrian. I froze as I saw him glaring at me. It was a look that I hadn't seen before. There was disgust in his eyes, and anger. There was a lot of anger. Dimitri followed my gaze, and then kissed me on my forehead as if trying to comfort me. It was such an easy gesture since he was a whole foot taller than me. My eyes dropped to the table separating Adrian and me. I didn't want to cause a scene. I had promised Lissa I would try to be good.
The table was set in the middle of the room, and was perpendicular to the door. So the door would be being the back of one of the guest sitting in the center of the table. Like Lissa had promised, there was assigned seating. Hopefully Adrian would follow rules for the first time in his life. Around the inside of the room, guardians dressed in black were stationed like pillars supporting the walls. I was glad I wasn't on duty tonight, but then again, I was a guest. So it wouldn't have been planned while I was working.
Lissa walked towards the table, taking her seat at the very left hand edge. This was a social cue for all of us to find our seats. Our names were on our plates on a folded card that stood by itself, as if to grab attention. Christian was seated on one side of Lissa. Beside him sat Janine, and beside her was Abe. Adrian was seated on the other side of Lissa. Beside Adrian sat Jill, and beside her was… me. I had somehow hoped to put more space between us than a 15 year old girl. Dimitri sat beside me, at the end of the table. I guess Lissa had taken into consideration how he was a rather large man, although he was lean. He just needed the extra space. Lissa was at one end of the table, and Dimitri and I on the other. But I guess this had to be a requirement in order to keep Adrian and me apart. At least Lissa and I had gotten to spend the day together. As our monarch, she deserved no other spot than at the head of the table.
After sitting down, waiters had come and asked us what we wanted to drink. It didn't take long for them to fulfill our requests, and quickly after, our food was brought out. Lissa had taken it upon herself to preorder our dinners. On each of our plates sat a different food. It was each of our favorite foods. I smiled widely as the waiter sat down in front of me chicken and bacon carbonara. When she hadn't known what others, like Dimitri, Jill, Janine and Abe wanted, she had asked beforehand. So far, dinner was moving smoothly, although Adrian was complaining because Lissa had refused to let alcohol be served at the table. It didn't take long for individual conversations to break out. Christian was glad to be spending time with Lissa, even though he was sharing her attention with Adrian. Jill had mentioned to me that she had wished she could be closer to her sister, but she seemed to be pleased to be sitting close to Adrian. I had always thought she had a crush on him, although he was way too old for her. He had always treated her like a sister. That affection shone through today, although Adrian and I ignored each other's presence.
"So Dimitri, we never got to go on that hunting trip. All the same, I have some questions for you." Said Abe, leaning towards my boyfriend. I groaned. Did we really have to talk about his here? Janine looked up from her plate, his comment had obviously sparked her interest. Dimitri looked a little uncomfortable, since we were technically in public, but he knew he couldn't put it off forever. It's not like he was scared of my parents, he just shared my sentiments on how it could be a conversation not done in public.
"Ask away, Mr. Mazur." Said Dimitri, not displaying any uncomfortableness in his voice to my father.
"Oh-ho, call me Abe." Said my father, chuckling just a little. His eyes flashed with intelligence, and I knew right then and there he was about to ask something we hadn't been prepared for. "I've gone through the testimony that Victor Dashkov gave at his trial." Everyone was listening now, at the mention of that one name. He had affected the lives of Lissa and I too much, and it had been the one person I had killed who wasn't undead. "He had mentioned the idea of investigating a statutory rape case at St. Vladimir's." Abe continued. Both Dimitri and I visibly stiffened. I didn't want Dimitri to get into trouble. "It got me to thinking about other testimony given during that day, and I was curious in what way my daughter was driven to attack you when Lissa had been kidnapped." He finished, obviously happy at the friction he had caused at the table. Sometimes I swear, that old man wasn't happy unless he was the only one in the room who was comfortable. Nearly everyone in the room knew what had happened at St. Vladimir's between Dimitri and me. We had a forbidden love. I was technically underage when it had started. We hadn't had sex yet, during the time this testimony was given, but that hardly mattered. We eventually did go on to have sex a couple months before my eighteenth birthday. Jill would have never known. My mother and Abe only suspected, they could probably push for an investigation although I was no longer underage. It could put into danger his guardian status, or at least who he was assigned to. Everyone else at the table had known about Dimitri and me. I was frozen, but Dimitri acted calmly, knowing it was best not to deceive my father.
"Your daughter and I had an attraction at the time, although we both fought it due to our student teacher roles. She did attack me yes, I just failed to go into the specifics. Victor's 'attack charm' was actually a lust charm he had put on a necklace he had given Rose. It encaptivated both of us. Although, like I testified at court, I was able to… deactivate it before any real…. danger occurred." He finished. He presented it like it was evidence. I looked back at my father, to see if I could read his expressions, but he was a very astute poker player.
"So what, from there on out, you continued to defile my daughter?" Asked Abe, although not in an angry way. Dimitri tried to hide a smile as he scratched his eyebrow with one of his fingers.
"No Sir. I actually told your daughter that it was a mistake, and that I didn't like her that way." Said Dimitri. I think both of us were glad at the moment that it had actually gone that way, although I never would have thought that I would be happy for such a thing. I had hated it at the time. Janine was watching the confrontation intently.
"My daughter inherited too many of her old man's intelligent genes to have believed that for long." Prompted Abe. Dimitri actually smiled.
"You're right. It took her about an hour to figure out that I had lied, and she had no problem in confronting me about it." Said Dimitri, smiling over at me. Abe seemed amused now. I was relieved that he wasn't insisting on pressing charges…. Yet.
"What happened then?" Asked my mother, her voice having more steel in it than my father's at the moment. Dimitri's eyes flitted over to my mother. They worked together. They were colleges. My mother respected Dimitri, yet here he was, sleeping with her daughter. I was too painfully aware that everyone else at the table was completely silent. Everyone was listening to the story. Lissa had heard it from my point of view, but not Dimitri's. And I knew better than to interject into my parent's questioning… for now.
"I explained to Rosa, that we could never be together. I was Vasilisa's guardian at the time, and Rose hoped to be her guardian as well. The Moroi come first- that is our creed. I told Rosa that I couldn't let myself love. If I loved Rose, then I would want to throw myself in front of Rose if a Strigoi attacked, instead of my charge." Said Dimitri, his voice getting a little quieter as it got more personal. I grabbed his hand on top of the table, so everyone could see.
"And I told you that your reasons for not loving me, only made me love you more." I said, unable to keep myself from interjecting. "It still caused us to put some distance between each other. Lissa was the last one I wanted to put in danger for my own foolish whims." I finished. Janine slammed her fist down on the table.
"So you're trying to tell me that you were that torn up about a man you weren't involved with, which lead you to go on a Strigoi killing spree in Russia? I don't believe it!" She said, a little bit louder that she needed to. Abe put a hand on her shoulder. My eyes flitted back down to my plate. She knew I was distraught for a reason. Silence ensued for a moment.
"Guardian Hathaway-" Dimitri started, using her formal name since she was angry, "did you ever wonder how the alarm was triggered so quickly the night the Strigoi attacked?" Her face paled.
"You were WITH my daughter in THAT way, that night? I thought you were just telling us that nothing was happening!" She roared, obviously upset. I felt myself start to speak before I knew I was doing it.
"I was shadow kissed mom. Lissa had just been tortured by all the elements, which is what ended up breaking the wards in the first place. They did it right near the wards, and the magic cancelled each other out. Lissa's spirit darkness took over her that night." Although I was still looking at my plate, I saw Liss look away at the memory. "I couldn't let her go through it, so I took it all in myself, which led to me brutally punching one of the Moroi. Dimitri had to remove me far from the situation- the cabin. He had to physically restrain me from escaping the cabin and finishing the job. The darkness wouldn't let me give up the rage I felt." I looked up at Dimitri, he squeezed my hand as he let me continue. "We had done so well at staying away from one another, but he was literally on top of me to keep me from escaping, and the chemistry took over. That was the first time it ever happened." I sought eye contact with my mother before adding one more word. "Ever." She understood the meaning without further explanation. The entire time I had spoken softly, but everyone had heard. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that Adrian was still hoping that my mother was going to cause drama, but I saw her face soften.
"So that's why you were so distraught. You wanted to go back in the cave instead of retreating. You wanted to save the only one you had been with, and I had to physically restrain you. I had to force you back to the reestablished wards." Said Janine. She understood that I lost Dimitri the night after I had lost my virginity. Maybe she understood now how much pain I was going through. By the looks on my parent's faces, it didn't seem like they faulted Dimitri and me. Maybe they understood that he didn't just seduce me.
"Wait, you slept with Dimitri while he was your teacher?" Asked Jill, plainly alarmed.
"I was nearly eighteen Jill, and close to graduating. I didn't say it was right though." I said, attempting not to give her any ideas. Adrian started talking to her softly.
"So you're saying you couldn't continue to resist my daughter's womanly wiles." Said Abe, his eye sparkling. He was teasing us. That's a good sign at least.
"I don't have wiles, old man. I'm just-" But whatever I was about to say, never happened. At that very moment, the door slammed open, and a large group of Moroi ran into the room. Immediately Dimitri and I were on our guards. I was slow however, because they had barged in behind me. Many of them went straight for Lissa, the Queen. Luckily the Guardians around the room had jumped to attention. Some had put themselves between Lissa and the attackers, while others pulled her and Christian to a safer location. Things happened so fast. All I knew is that Dimitri and I were fighting side by side. We were knocking out the Moroi attackers, and kicking away their weapons. My dress flowed with my movements effortlessly. I didn't stop to look up until every enemy was unconscious.
But there I saw a peculiar sight. Jill was laying on the floor. Adrian and Eddy Castile, who had been on guard that night, were by her side. She looked fine now, but I saw a very large blood stain on the front of her dress, as well as on the floor. There was also a knife that had been thrown aside, covered in blood. I looked at Jill, she looked like she was perfectly fine. Eddy was now moving her. It was Adrian who caught my attention next. He looked completely drained. It was in that instant that I realized what had happened. The blood stain was directly over her heart. Jill had died. There was no way that she wouldn't have, with the amount of blood on her and the floor. And Adrian had saved her. Jill was now like I had once been. Jill was shadow kissed.