Hi! :)
Thanks for the follows, favorites and of course, the beautiful reviews! I hope you like this chapter :)
Rose
Dimitri's eyes were fixed on the majestic waterfalls in front of us. If you didn't know him, you could never say that he was impressed. But he was.
The treva waterfalls had never not impressed a person.
Especially not when the view was from a secluded platform on the mountain opposite the falls.
While I did feel slightly guilty over the fact that our visit had resulted in the public being banned from the vicinity of the falls for an hour or so, I knew that there was no other option. When Neal and I visit the place as we do so often, we generally turn it into an opportunity to interact with the public, obliging the requests for selfies and conversations. But Dimitri was a visiting monarch and we couldn't compromise his security for anything.
"Rose?" Dimitri called quietly, drawing my attention back to him.
"Hmm?"
He turned to look at me, the fading light of the sun illuminating his profile from behind. It made him look like some sort of angel, pure and mighty and oh, so gorgeous.
"It's beautiful," he said softly.
I resisted the urge to say, "Yes, you are." Sighing, I nodded with a small smile.
Turning back to watch the falls, I was struck by an idea.
Would he go through with it? If nothing else, this would truly reveal the extent of my recklessness. Did I want that?
Oh, yes!
"Are you up for something...unconventional?" I asked him nonchalantly.
His tone was curious and open. "What are you thinking?"
Without turning to look at him, I pointed to the falls. "See the place where the river plunges off the cliff?"
"Yes."
Smirking, I declared, "I want to go there."
His reply was instantaneous. "Why?"
I smothered a smirk. "I want to stand at the precipice of the waterfall and gaze down at the world."
He didn't say anything for a moment. When I chanced a glance at him, I was not greeted with a Rose-is-crazy look that I'd been expecting. In fact, his eyes held a thoughtful, calculating glint.
His next words stunned me. "How do we get up there?"
I narrowed my eyes, sure that he was joking. "Seriously?"
He actually laughed!
"Huh." I grinned, looked at him appreciatively. "Who knew there was a young soul buried underneath all that ice and zen master wisdom?"
He shot me a look but otherwise ignored my comment. "Shall we go then?"
"Follow me, Your Majesty."
After a quick argument with Mason, we set off with no guards trailing us. It was tough to convince Mason to not follow us but there was no way I wanted them trailing behind us. Dimitri was great company but only when he wasn't around strangers. Besides, it would be awkward to have guards eavesdropping on our conversation.
"How did you manage to convince him to not follow us?" Dimitri asked, nodding to Mason.
"I told him we'd be trekking through the forest, following a path very people know about," I replied, leading the way to a bridge that would take us to the mountain that river Treva plunged from.
The bridge was considered too dangerous and so the public wasn't allowed on it, save for a few that provided appropriate medical certificates. This was not for the fainthearted.
"Don't worry," I told Dimitri as I stepped onto the narrow bridge. "The path's safe."
"I don't think I can worry about anything at the moment," he replied frankly, a relaxed look on his face as we walked down the bridge. The bridge was quite close to the falls, spraying us with water as we walked closer to the mountain.
I had to agree with him. This was a surreal experience, more so because it was Dimitri Belikov by my side as we walked down a bridge dangerously close to the magnificent waterfall at dusk.
I laughed even as the bridge shook slightly. I was almost fully drenched in water, the spray light and refreshing on my face. The drop from the bridge was sharp and deep but that just added to the excitement. There's nothing, nothing in the world quite like the adrenaline rush you get when you try something dangerous and risky.
Dimitri seemed to agree with me, which was a little shocking. His expression said it all. I wondered if he'd ever done something like this before. While I couldn't imagine him being a reckless teenager, he gave off a vibe that said he would laugh at the face of danger, much like I was doing at the moment.
I stopped suddenly, turning to face Dimitri who shot me a puzzled look.
"Why are we hurrying?" I questioned him. "We have all the time in the world."
Dimitri smiled a full smile. "We have a half an hour before sun sets, Rose. Shouldn't we be moving if we're to reach the top?"
"Nah," I waved dismissively. "Fifteen minutes are enough, give or take."
"Well then," he tipped his face up to catch the spray square on the face. His casual t-shirt clung to his body like a second skin, his hair free and framing his face in a drenched curtain. With the light shower of water trailing down his body, he was a quite a sight himself.
A mouth watering sight.
Women must be throwing themselves at him on regular basis and if they saw him now...
Hot damn! This was too much.
"Promise me something?" I blurted out.
Dimitri arched an eyebrow as he looked down at me.
Well, there was no backing out now. Might as well say it.
"Promise me that you won't have affairs behind my back," I told him, my tone strict. "After marriage," I clarified, just in case.
He sighed softly, looking almost hurt. "Do you think I would?"
"It's not about what I think, Dimitri." I glanced away from him, trying to find the right words. "I need you to promise me that you won't."
Dimitri's long, graceful fingers came up to gently turn my face back to him. His expression was open, honest. "I promise I won't. I would never do that."
I nodded but wasn't quite finished yet. "I don't want to know about your past affairs but-"
"-there are none to speak of," he interrupted, his words shocking me.
"None?" I questioned again.
"Is your answer any different?" he asked with an amused smile as though he knew my answer.
It was then I understood. He was so much like me...
I returned his smile. "What's your reason? No time? Too much effort?"
"Both," he replied before eyeing me curiously. "They have a similar oath in Loha then?"
I laughed. "Yup. The only rule I've followed, I suppose. 'Thou shall not have lustful dalliances and shall remain pure until thine wedding day' and all that tosh."
It was slightly embarrassing to talk about vow of purity with your betrothed but it had to be said. It was good to know Russovia too had such a vow in place for the ruling family.
"It's slightly different for Russovian royalty," Dimitri remarked. "The vow speaks of remaining true to your life partner. No one but your intended."
"If there's more than one life partner?" I asked, observing him keenly.
"Then it might be stretched," Dimitri replied evenly before leaning closer. "But I don't intend to find out."
It was getting harder to breath. All I managed was a soft, "oh?"
Dimitri gently took my right hand in his. "Rose, I promise you, there will not be a second marriage. I despise that tradition with all my heart."
"No second marriage even if the situation forces it?" I clarified.
"Not even then," he said solemnly before leaning back. "I cannot do to anyone what my father did to my mother."
With heavy pauses and a lot of hesitation, Dimitri explained how his father's second marriage had broken his mother. I got a distinction impression that he'd never spoken about it before, choosing instead to bottle it up. I couldn't explain why I felt so happy to have Dimitri trusting me enough to speak about it.
It was...reassuring, to say the least.
I almost felt bad for making him talk about something that was obviously painful. I could have stopped him, allowed him to savor this moment of absolute peace but I needed to know why he would never be okay with another marriage. Also, he clearly needed to get it off his chest.
For a moment, I was struck by the thought that Dimitri might never be open about his feelings, even after our marriage. He was the kind of person who would rarely speak about himself, choosing instead to bottle up his feelings and emotions. I had my work cut out for me if I wanted him to relinquish his tight control over his emotions.
But yet, here he was, opening up to me.
If this wasn't progress, what was?
When he finished, we both stood quietly, looking over at the beautiful right of the roaring waterfalls. I was still trying to digest everything I'd heard.
"Olena didn't deserve that," I said, picturing Olena's kind face. "She's just so...good."
"She is," Dimitri agreed, his tone heavy
"But-" I paused, only continuing when Dimitri raised an eyebrow, silently urging me to continue. "You love your father. I know you do. But the way you spoke about him just now..."
Dimitri's dark eyes hooded, closing in his emotions.
That's when I knew I'd hit a wall; I wouldn't get anything more from him.
He proved my thought correct when he said as much.
Leaving him be, I released his hands, having almost forgotten that I'd been holding them. The moment I let go, I realized that I was as drenched as him and incredibly cold. Strangely, I hadn't noticed it until now.
"Come on," I said after a moment, pushing away from the railing and walking up the bridge. "The view's better at the top."
Dimitri
The journey forward was comfortable, though the path was not. Pushing aside branches and bushes, we made our way through the thick vegetation. Rose seemed to know the way through the forest and I hoped her navigation skills were better than her driving skills.
She kept me distracted, not allowing me to dwell on the grim topics we'd discussed before. Her incredible sense of humor had me laughing more that I'd ever laughed in years.
I had a feeling that I would never have a dull day in the future. Rose was enough to brighten the gloomiest of moods.
She'd already upturned all conventions I'd believed in and I knew, I knew with absolute certainty that our marriage would wreak havoc on my neat and organized world. Rose was like a tornado, uprooting everything in range. I knew I could be safe, away from the storm if I wanted to but I couldn't seem to tear myself away.
"We're almost there," Rose said, pulling me out of my thoughts.
We'd reached the banks of the river. As we walked along the river, the roar of the waterfalls increased in volume. It was almost deafening when we approached the point where the river leaped off the cliff. The water rushed forward with force, creating swirls and filling the area with spray. There were some huge rocks at the very edge on the mountain, rocks moist with river water and easily approachable from the banks but incredibly dangerous to step on.
My heart leapt to my throat when Rose shot me an smirk before nimbly jumping onto a huge rock standing at the very edge of the river.
"Rose!" My chastisement was unfortunately weakened by relief that she was still in one piece.
I exhaled harshly, running my fingers through my hair as Rose peered down from the top of the hills. She turned to face me, an exuberant grin on her face, her eyes bright with mischief and excitement. "Come join me, Comrade! You have to see this."
Warily, I eyed the rock, judging its slipperiness and assessing if it could hold both of our weights. Deeming it safe, I carefully made my way over to Rose.
The moment I joined her, she pulled me closer to the edge, wordlessly gesturing down.
There were no words to describe the beauty of the mighty river as it plunged down the cliff.
It was an incredible sight, breathtaking in its magnificence and power.
Standing there at the edge of the mountain, at the precipice of the world and the tipping point of the river, I was overcome by sheer thrill and excitement unlike ever before. As Rose had pointed out, there was nothing quite like adrenaline rush.
In tune with my feelings, Rose cupped her hands around her mouth and whooped happily. Laughing, I let myself enjoy this moment, a moment like nothing I'd ever experienced before.
Rose took a small step forward but I pulled her back, worried about the slippery surface on which we were standing. Even though my pull was gentle, Rose wobbled on her feet unsteadily for one heart-stopping moment. Luckily, she fell back on me.
Instinctively, my arms wrapped around her waist to steady her, pulling her closer to me and away from the edge.
For a moment, I was filled with relief but it was abruptly cut off when Rose's wide eyes locked with mine.
Suddenly, nothing existed in the world but her.
The roar of the waterfalls, the light of the setting sun, the slippery surface of the rock, even the cold dampness of our clothes faded, melting from the heat that had sprung between us.
Rose was cradled against me, so close that I had troubled breathing. Her lithe body was warm against mine, her eyes electric, reeling me into the endless pool of brown. Her skin seemed to be soft and dewy, glowing when the rays of the sun touched her. Her hair was like soft silk, the tips brushing against my arms. Slowly, I loosened an arm from around her waist and brought it up to catch a strand of that silky hair, winding it between my fingers. Her eyes didn't stray from mine but she bit her lip softly, drawing my attention. Her full lips were a soft pink and so, so inviting.
She was close now, very close. So close that I could clearly see that her lips were trembling slightly. Did she want me? Did I want her?
Yes, I realized. I did want her...
Her eyes slid shut in anticipation. I drew her even closer, her breath fresh on my face...her lips almost touching mine. It was such sweet agony...
Until it was abruptly broken.
A shrill ringing sound brought me back to my senses. Quickly, I let go of Rose, moving a step backward to be safe.
It was her phone which was ringing.
Taking a quick breath, Rose answered the call but her eyes were on me. I couldn't bring myself to look away, thinking of what would have happened if we hadn't been interrupted-
It was because I'd been watching her that I could immediately see the change in her, the stiffening of spine and onset of panic. Worried, I reclaimed the step I'd take away from her, my heartbeat quickening again.
Something was wrong.
Rose slowly moved the phone away from her ear, putting it on speaker.
"Your Majesty?" Mason's anxious voice sounded though the phone.
"What's wrong?" I asked quickly.
"The Lohan government website has received a...threatening video."
"What sort of threatening video?" I asked.
"A video showing bomb blast in Gayodha," Mason replied.
"Gayodha is north of Devagiri," Rose clarified almost robotically.
"It's not a...hoax?" I asked carefully, trying to wrap my head around it.
"No, sir." Mason replied grimly.
I exhaled sharply.
"No one's dead," Mason continued. "But many are injured. The video says that the blast is a warning."
"Do you who sent it?" I asked, a sneaky suspicion crawling under my skin.
"Traasa," was Mason's hushed reply. "It was sent by traasa."
AN: Tan-ta-dan! :D
So, traasa's back. Rose and Dimitri almost kissed and both are oh, so close...Happy ending? Nah :D
Did you like it? Did ya? Leave me a review and let me know! Or else, I'll feel sad and won't update soon :p
Until next time :)
