Hi! :)
Okay, I don't want to jinx it but I've got three days of respite from my hectic schedule and I'm hoping to use these three days to write more. Please, please send tons of inspiration and blessings my way so that I can try to bring this story to a satisfying end :)
As always, thank you so much for the reviews, follows and favorites. I hope you enjoy this chapter :D
Lissa
"Lady Dragomir." The guard saluted and opened the door for me. "The Prince is expecting you."
"Thank you, sir." I nodded and entered the Chandra- the official residence of Prince Neal Mazur.
As always, I marveled at Neal's taste as I walked into the Chandra. The hallways of the Chandra had magnificent ivory walls which were tastefully decorated with beautiful paintings and tapestries of the Mazur dynasty. With sculptures and rare artifacts displayed in regular intervals, the Chandra always radiated an artsy vibe, echoing the master of these halls.
"Lady Dragomir!" called Neal's personal assistant, Carly; an alchemist like her younger sister Sydney. "The Prince is in the conference room. He's holding a meeting but he told me to inform you that you can walk in."
I hesitated. "Who's he meeting?"
"Some representatives of a Russovian media house," she replied, consulting her book. "The Coleman-Specter network. They were here for the engagement ceremony and the Prince requested a meeting with them."
I walked over to the double doors of the Conference room but didn't open them. Instead, I turned back to look at Carly. "Are you certain the Prince won't mind the interruption?"
Carly smiled patiently. "No, Lady Lissa. Besides, the meeting is almost over."
"Thank you, Carly."
With a sigh, I pushed open the door to find Neal seated at the head of the table, surrounded by the Russovian journalists.
"Ah, Lady Dragomir." Neal grinned lazily, lounging back on his chair. "Please come in."
I greeted everyone with a smile, walking over to sit on a chair to Neal's right.
"So what do you say, gentlemen?" Neal looked around the table with his most charming smile, the one he used when he was trying to persuade others to let him have his way.
It'd never failed him yet.
A popular saying among those of us who knew Neal went like this: What Neal Mazur wants, Neal Mazur gets.
It must be noted that siblings had inherited that zeal from their father. Everyone knew that Abe always got what he wanted, by hook or by crook.
Neal used his ample charm to convince others to give him what he desired. And Rose; well, she usually used force to get her way but god knew she could be charming when she wanted to be.
The Mazurs were used to getting their way; they really didn't know the meaning of the word 'no'. But then again, we the people were just as guilty of letting them have their way.
Like I expected, the men agreed to Neal's terms-whatever they were-without further persuasion.
"Excellent!" Neal smiled cheerfully, rising up to shake their hands. "We have ourselves a deal then."
One of the men smiled at Neal as he shook his hand. "We're looking forward to working with you, Your Grace."
"And I with you."
After more pleasantries, the men were escorted out of the room.
Closing the door behind them, Neal shot me a victorious smile and pulled out a wine bottle from a side cabinet. "Fancy a drink, Liss?"
"Yes, thank you."
He filled two glasses with the red wine and handed one to me before hopping on to sit on the table in front of me.
Clinking our classes together, Neal toasted: "To Rose and Dimitri's engagement."
"To romitri!" I grinned and took a sip.
Neal crunched his eyebrows cutely. "Romitri?"
I laughed, "Rose and Dimitri, silly."
Neal looked bemused. "Why would you fuse their names together like that?"
"It's their couple name," I informed him. "Couple names are made by combining two names together."
Neal snorted. "The things you youngsters come up with-"
"You're barely four years older than me!" I protested.
"Be that as it may, young grasshopper, we are generations apart in mentality." Neal said grandly but the twinkle in his blue eyes said he was joking.
I shook my head, taking a last sip of the wine. "What was the meeting about?"
Neal smiled smugly. "That, my dear Lissa, was a guarantee."
I arched an eyebrow.
"Coleman-Specter network is the most successful media house in Russovia," Neal elaborated, satisfaction shining through every word. "Rose needs the media by her side when she assumes her duties as their queen."
I agreed with him.
"I know the people will love her once they get to know her," Neal swirled the wine in his glass, looking at it thoughtfully. "It's very important that they get to know her for who she is, rather than from many…ah, unsavory rumors."
I tried to follow his train of thought. "So you made a deal with the Coleman-Specter network to…what? Show her in a positive light?"
"No," Neal corrected. "I merely suggested that they show the truth; the very many things Rose has done for the Lohan public. In return, I promised to smoothen their foray into the Lohan media."
"That's quite a good deal." I said honestly. "But why are you trying to protect Rose? We both know she has a way with the commoners."
Neal looked at me with a slightly sad smile. "Russovia is not Loha, Liss. The country is thrice as large with much more diverse population. Their political structure is infinitely more complicated."
"How do you mean?"
"You've studied the four powerful families of Russovia, haven't you?"
When I nodded, Neal continued: "The Belikovs have always held the north and the throne while the other three families guard the three other directions of Russovia to keep the peace."
"Yes and all of them have seats in the council." I added.
"More than that," Neal stood up to pace along the length of the room. "To a large extend, they are the lords of their own vast lands unless an express order by the king contradicts that. The three families have abundant power and compete with each other for favors from the Crown. They make up Russovian politics as we know it."
"Okay, their political structure is crazy." I summarized. "That doesn't explain why you're worried, beside the obvious fear as a brother of the bride. Rose will have a higher power than all of them, being a Belikov by marriage. What threat can they pose to her? She'll be above their petty politics."
Neal sighed, looking worried.
I swallowed nervously.
I could count on one hand the number of times Neal had actually looked worried. That was not in his nature at all, which must mean that the situation was very grave.
"She won't be exempted from the politics, Lissa." Neal revealed, collapsing on the chair beside mine. "You know how she is. So direct, so impulsive and so fierce that she easily makes enemies. She always has to make sure justice is served and that, Lissa, that will get her into trouble."
I shivered, trying to contradict his assessment. "Dimitri will be with her and-"
"Dimitri knows the delicate balance that needs to be maintained with those families," Neal said, scratching his jaw. "He's wise enough to play the game and keep them pacified. They are pretty corrupt families but Dimitri can do nothing without proof. Rose doesn't need proof, she serves justice as she sees fit. That will get her into trouble and even Dimitri may not be able to help her."
"Don't say that-"
"What's more?" Neal continued, ignoring my plea. "Russovia is steeped in patriarchy which has been abolished in Loha for centuries. Rose can't deal with that much gender prejudice on her own."
I sighed, acknowledging the truth in his words. "She hates being told what to do by anyone. If she's treated any less simply by the virtue of her gender…well, I don't even want to think of the result."
"That's why I made that deal," Neal told him, the light returning to his blue eyes. "I want her to have her people's love, even if the families turn against her."
"What use is that?" I asked bleakly.
"Don't underestimate the love of the common folk, Liss." Neal told me gravely. "They can bring the powerful to their knees if they want to. Such is the power of a common man."
I tried to understand the situation. "You're saying that she'll be hated by the royals but will have the love of her subjects so she'll be okay?"
"Yes," Neal nodded, spinning his wine glass lightly on the tabletop. "She has to handle the families by herself. But she won't be without help."
"Oh?"
Neal smiled deviously. "Rose will be the undisputed queen of Russovia. That I can promise you."
I smiled, reassured by Neal's words. I knew he'd leave no stone unturned in ensuring his sister's happiness and power. His plan was not yet clear to me but I understood that much; Neal would work behind the scenes, controlling Russovian politics in favor of his sister. There wasn't much Neal wouldn't do for Rose.
"But that's not why you're here," Neal noted abruptly, collapsing on the chair beside mine. "What did you want to speak to me about?"
"Rose, what else?" I drew vague patterns on the arm of the chair, trying to find the right words. "Something strange happened yesterday."
Neal leaned forward, looking curious. "What happened?"
"Rose and Dimitri kissed," I revealed.
Neal stared at me blankly for a moment before throwing his head back in laughter.
"I thought it was something serious," Neal chuckled, his blue eyes dancing.
"It is!" I insisted, coloring slightly at his mirth. "Rose used the term 'friends'. Don't you see what it means?"
Neal grinned, "What exactly does that mean, sweet Lissa?"
"She's pushing him away," I said, annoyed that he wasn't taking me seriously.
"They're having an arranged marriage," Neal said patiently. "Isn't it natural to progress slowly? Maybe Rose is comfortable calling Dimitri her friend instead of fiance."
"Right after they kissed?" I asked incredulously. "Come on, Neal! You should have seen her face when she walked in. She's clearly attracted to him."
"And he is to her," Neal acknowledged. "You don't think-"
We looked at each other quietly, wondering the same thing: was Rose pushing away her fiance?
"Maybe she's just scared of moving to Russovia," I suggested hopefully. "It's a huge change. Maybe she feels it's all happening too fast."
Neal exhaled and leaned back on his chair. "I hope you're right. If we're lucky, that's all there is to it. If not-"
"-then it must mean that Rose's old fears are coming back," I said dimly, playing with the old chain around my neck. "She's afraid of what the relationship will do to her."
"We can't help her with that," Neal said softly. "It's on her and Dimitri to work out the kinks in their relationship. All we can do is ensure that she doesn't have anything else to worry about so that she can concentrate on her marriage."
"We will," I nodded, a feeling of determination washing over me. "We'll do everything we can to make sure she's happy."
Rose
I knocked on the door softly, wondering if I should just walk in.
It was my fiance's suite, after all.
God, this was confusing.
But the door swung open within seconds of my knocking, ending my confusion.
The smile slipped off my face when my eyes met crystalline blue ones.
"Rose!" Tasha smiled, opening the door wider for me. "Come in!"
Was she serious? Not only was she opening the door of my fiance's room, she was also inviting me in as though it was her suite?
I'd almost completely forgotten about her after seeing her in the get-together party before the engagement. Now, as I looked her standing casually in Dimitri's suite as if she had all the right in the world to be there, I felt everything come roaring back.
Trying to squash my irritation, I smiled at Tasha. "Nice to see you again, Natasha."
She grinned. "Please, call me Tasha. And I must say, you're an unexpected surprise, Rose."
I raised my eyebrows sardonically. "Me, a surprise? How so? I'm only just visiting my fiance."
She flinched slightly at the word fiance but otherwise seemed unaffected. "Of course. What's that you're holding?"
She gestured to Dimitri's duster that I'd brought along so that I could return it to him.
"This is Dimitri's duster," I told her, unable to resist a smirk. "He lent it to me the other day so I brought it back. Where is he, by the way?"
Tasha tore her eyes away from the duster. "Oh. He's not here."
I frowned, feeling like I'd lost the point I'd just earned against her. "He said he'd be here."
Tasha looked puzzled. She deserved an Oscar if she was really acting. "He did? He sent me a message few minutes ago saying that he's going to Olena's suite. But I was already here so I let myself in to wait for him."
What the hell was going on?
He'd told her and not me?
Wanting to reassure myself, I quickly pulled out my phone to see if I'd received a similar message.
I didn't want to think about what the lack of message would mean-
Looking at the screen, I smirked. "Yeah, he says he'll be in Olena's suite."
"Yes, that's the message I got." Tasha said but I wasn't done.
I looked up from the phone and smiled sweetly at Tasha, resisting the urge to laugh smugly. "Well, he's asked me to meet him there so I'll guess I'll see you around?"
"Oh, I'll come too." Tasha announced brightly despite the invitation not having been extended to her.
Well, I knew that Dimitri would not mind having her there.
But I did.
This woman was bringing out all kinds of uncomfortable feelings in me and I didn't like that one bit.
What was wrong with me?
All I knew is that I hated seeing this woman with my fiance. Which was absurd, since they were friends and all that.
God damn it! Was this how Dimitri felt when he saw me with Adrian?
What did that mean?
"I'm glad I got a chance to talk to you before I left," Tasha said, looking genuinely glad.
I felt bad for mentally abusing her. She was a guest, after all.
"Well, you're leaving really soon." I told her smoothly but secretly glad that she wasn't sticking around.
"I have to get back to Yavana," Tasha replied, brushing back her silky raven locks. Was Dimitri as fascinated by her hair as he was with mine?
"If I leave my brother alone for too long, he'll make a huge mess of things."
Her brother, the king of Yavana.
Resisting the urge to ask her why she was so close to Dimitri when her brother seemed to hate anything to do with Russovia, I steered the topic to a safe zone. "Dimitri mentioned something about your program to help domestically abused women in your country. How's that working?"
"Fantastically!" she gushed, her eyes lighting up. For the first time, I felt myself liking her for her zeal to help women. "It's extremely satisfying to help those poor women. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about."
"To a certain degree," I confessed. "Lohan women enjoy a much better social status than others around the world. I haven't really done much-"
Tasha cut me off with a laugh. "Haven't done much? Rose, do you realize how much impact you have on women globally? Especially those of royal blood? Your speech in the 'Global Nations Council' drew attention to our condition, reduced to being arm candy for men who have all the powers. Don't even get me started on your 'Wonder Women' program."
I grinned. "I was just happy that it didn't get shelved after all that debate."
Tasha laughed and agreed.
We swapped stories until we reached Olena's door. Before I could knock, Tasha stopped me.
"Rose," she said, her tone apprehensive. "You know Russovia is predominantly patriarchal, don't you?"
I frowned, wondering if she was about to say something to destroy the reluctant camaraderie I was starting to acknowledge between us.
"Just don't-" Tasha hesitated. "Don't let it get one over you."
I laughed, surprised at the warmth in her words. She may not like me-which she'd never indicated so far- but she definitely admired me. I loved being admired so I suppose she wasn't all that bad. "I'll try my best."
Soon after I knocked, the door was flung open by a teary eyed Viktoria. Without any warning, she flung her arms around me.
"Hey, what's wrong?" I tried asking her but it was no use. She wouldn't reply.
Sonya laughed through the open door. "Vika, don't choke her!"
Tasha edged past me and Viktoria and walked into the room. I could see Dimitri sitting on a couch, busy with his tablet phone. He stood up quickly when Tasha approached and pulled him into a huge hug.
That knot in my chest, the one that always materialized when I was around Dimitri, tightened at the sight.
But Viktoria soon distracted me when she lifted her head to look at me balefully. "Can I kidnap you and take you with me to Russovia?"
I laughed in reply.
"I'll ask Abe and Janine for permission," Viktoria said cheekily.
I chuckled. "They're not the problem. Neal is. If you can convince him-"
"-he'll not let you leave!" Viktoria exclaimed, hugging me tighter.
Barely able to breathe, I looked over her shoulder at Sonya. "Please free me from this human octopus!"
Sonya approached quickly but instead of freeing me from Viktoria, she threw her arms around both of us.
Viktoria and I shrieked in surprise, wobbling dangerously in the doorway.
We burst out laughing as we regained balance, a tangle of limbs and hair. A small body barreled into us the next second, tiny arms winding around us as Paul joined the hug. We laughed, we shrieked, we pulled Paul up to kiss his face.
It was a moment like none other.
I've had good friends, I had a nice family but such loving, tender moments were rare and limited to Neal and Lissa.
For the first time in my life, I appreciated that fact that I'd been granted two friends in form of my sisters-in-law. Two sisters who actually seemed to like and accept me as I was. The Belikov family was just so full of love, brimming with acceptance and warmth.
Maybe I would find a place for myself among them.
That feeling of belonging solidified when I felt an arm wrap around my waist.
Dimitri.
Yes, this was my place.
This was were I belonged, in the middle of the Belikov family.
Olena approached us with tears in her eyes, touched by the moment like all of us. She pressed a kiss to each of our foreheads, gently chastising us for making so much noise.
When she closed the door behind us and Dimitri pulled me closer as we watched Sonya and Vika throwing Paul up in the air, I cared not for anything but the people around me. Tasha's presence didn't even bother me. Nothing did, except this familial bliss that was so unfamiliar but strangely familiar at the same time.
Okay, this is going to be a pretty long AN. I have several confessions to make :p
1) This chapter sparks off two subplots that I'm not sure I can continue. One of the concept of the four families in Russovia, a la GoT and another is Rose's past. I'm not sure how much I can explore them and I hope you all can forgive me if I end up omtiting either or both.
2) I've tried to make Tasha a bit likeable. I don't approve of casting her as a monster right from the start because in the VA world, she was actually likeable except for the whole obsession with Dimitri. She was a woman who wanted to make the world a better place.
3) This is the hardest confession to make but I have to say it. Rose and Dimitri have been my OTP for about 5 years now but unfortunately, another fictional couple has now occupied my attention. Of course, it's always possible to have multiple OTPs but seeing as how obsessed I was with romitri for so long, I've actually started wondering if I can do them justice anymore :'(
For anyone wondering, it's a couple from the most successful Indian movie of all time. Baahubali - the two part franchise. The couple- Amarendra Baahubali and Devasena are relationship goals! 3
Last but not the least, I'd love to hear what you thought about this chapter. Leave a review and let me know. The last part of the chapter reaffirmed my love for VA and I hope it can convince you to forgive me! :)
