Happy 2018! :)

Updated at last! I really hope that I get the motivation to finish this story. It's been so long since I actually wrote any part of this...Pray for me, guys :p

Refresher: Magadha is the capital of Russovia, Dimitri's country. It's been a while since the last update so I really don't know if you all remember this bit :)

Hope you like this chapter :)


Rose

"Hey, Comrade!" I greeted cheerfully, picking up the call as I walked up the steps of the jet which would take me to Russovia.

There was some disturbance on his side but his voice flowed softly into my ear: "Hello, Rose. How are you today?"

"Spectacular, thank you!" I told him, greeting Lissa as I entered the plane. She'd decided to accompany me and her curiosity over Russovia only played a small part in that decision. I knew she was here for me and I loved her for it.

Despite the apprehension bubbling in the pit of my stomach, I kept my voice light: "It's a lovely day, isn't it?"

Dimitri sighed softly, almost regretfully. "It seems to be."

"What's wrong?" I asked him instantly, my gut telling me that all was not well with him.

"Nothing's wrong," he hurried to reassure me but I knew he was lying.

Lissa looked up from her book to shoot me a questioning look but I waved her away. Ivan didn't seem to have arrived yet but a couple of Russovian guards who'd accompanied him to Loha sat at the back.

"Dimitri," I warned him quietly, my nervousness increasing when I realized he was keeping something from me. "I know you're lying."

There was a pause.

And then, he asked in a surprised voice: "How?"

I shrugged, even though he couldn't see. "I can tell."

This time, the pause was so long that I thought the call had been cut. Just when I was about to hang up, I heard some background noises from the phone; some men were shouting and vehicles were moving and judging by the sound, they seem to be some huge, heavy duty vehicles.

No, this wasn't a small matter.

It was something huge, something huge that Dimitri was not telling me.

Almost as if he could guess my thoughts, he said in a voice that was devoid of emotion: "I'm taking care of it, Rose. Don't worry."

I clenched my fist. "So you won't tell me what's going on?"

"I will," he reassured me. Though his voice was gentle, there was a clear warning for me to not pry. "Just not now. I'll tell you when you reach Magadha."

"Speaking of," I switched the topic after a moment of silence, knowing that there was no persuading him when he was being stubborn like this. "This is a pretty unexpected surprise, Comrade."

I felt pretty pleased with myself when I got a small laugh in return.

"That's why it's called a surprise, Rose." Dimitri's voice was now amused and almost devoid of the previous strain. "It's supposed to be unexpected."

"Whatever you say, smartass." I said lightly.

There was a shout from his end and then some footsteps before I heard Dimitri said something in a muffled voice, evidently to someone who wasn't me. Then he came back on the line; "Rose, I need to go. I'll see you soon, okay."

"Okay." I nodded, biting my lip. "Dimitri?"

"Yes?"

"Be careful," I told him, a strange worry engulfing me at the thought of him doing something dangerous. Of course, I didn't really know if whatever was going on with him was dangerous or not but with our luck, it most likely was.

"I will." I could almost hear the smile in his voice. "Good bye, Roza."

"Bye." I whispered, a warmth washing over me as it always did when he called me Roza. It was a rare event and I cherished it; feeling a little silly for being so sentimental over a name but also feeling giddy.

I was going crazy.

No, Dimitri Belikov was driving me crazy.

I stood quickly, looking for a distraction. Ivan had only just arrived and he was at the back of the plane with the Russovian guards, deep in conversation. Making up my mind, I headed in that direction, clearing my throat to alert them of my presence.

"Princess Mazur!" The guards made to stand but I waved them down.

"Please sit." I told, taking a seat beside Ivan. "I hope you enjoyed your brief stay in Loha."

Ivan smiled as the guards exchanged glances and nodded hesitantly.

"You can relax," I told them pointedly. "I'm not going to eat you."

They traded surprised looks before relaxing slightly.

"Pardon us, Your Grace." One of them, Sandor Yargen if I remember rightly, said with a smile. "It's not often that royals deign to ask after us."

I frowned. "I'm sure your king does that too."

The guards relaxed fully, their smiles becoming a little brighter at the mention of their king. It warmed me to see how much they respected Dimitri. "Of course, Your Grace. But we're not always in his service."

I looked at Ivan for an explanation.

"They are Ivashkov guards," Ivan told me with a small frown. "The others are, well-"

They all exchanged apprehensive glances.

"Does this have anything to do with whatever Dimitri is hiding from me?" I asked Ivan, annoyed at the secrecy.

"Rose," Ivan sighed, perhaps recognizing how irritated I was. "He'll tell you when the time is right, okay? Come on now, let's go up the front and talk to the pilot."

I followed him reluctantly, to and from the cockpit before collapsing on the seat next to him as the plane ascended, leaving Lohan grounds easily. I refused to think about the fact that the next time I'd be in a similar flight was after marriage and leaving Loha for good.

"Ready to see your new home?" Ivan asked me with a grin.

New home.

My mood nosedived at those words, nausea churning in my stomach. Not wanting to alert Ivan, I settled for a small smirk. "Eh. I'm sure it's nothing special."

Ivan widened his eyes comically. "Is that the way a princess talks? You need to learn some manners, young lady."

My smile wasn't forced anymore. "I will when you will, my good sir."

We stared at each other for a moment before laughing. It was crazy how Ivan and I had become friends so quickly. Ivan reminded me of Christian, minus the arrogant air and the ability to get under my skin. It was like Ivan was my fun twin while Christian was like an annoying older brother.

Neal generally wasn't irritating but he could be a terror when he wanted to be.

"Hey," Lissa came over to sit opposite us.

Ivan's eyes snapped to her in interest.

"Nice to meet you, Lord Zeklos." Lissa greeted him with a smile, her jade eyes scanning him thoroughly.

She blushed when she caught my raised eyebrows.

"Rose," Ivan said without taking his eyes off Lissa. "You didn't mention that you had such a gorgeous friend."

Lissa blushed some more, a healthy pink coloring her cheeks. Wait, was Ivan flirting with her?

And was Lissa pleased by this?

"You must be the illustrious Lady Dragomir that I've heard so much about," Ivan said smoothly, kissing her extended hand.

Yup, definitely flirting.

I wasn't sure I liked this new development. Lissa belonged with Christian. She hadn't moved on from their breakup that was almost two years ago. This was, perhaps, the first time she was taking an interest in a man after that episode.

But was it healthy?

Unable to figure out the answer, I changed the topic.

"It's a three hour long journey, right?" I asked Ivan as I fiddled with my seat belt.

"Yes, Rose." Ivan said patiently. "It's not changed from the last two times that you asked me."

"Can't blame a girl for asking," I grumbled. "I'm bad at sitting still."

Ivan grinned mirthfully. "So am I. How about a game of chess?"

I made a face.

"Cards?" Ivan produced a stack of cards from his pocket..

"Only because I have nothing else to do," I answered.

"Will you be joining us, Lady Dragomir?" Ivan asked with a smile.

"No thank you, Lord Zeklos."

"You must call me Ivan. Please, I insist."

"Only if you call me Lissa."

"Of course, pretty lady." Ivan said charmingly.

I cleared my throat.

Hastily, Ivan shuffled the cards and started the game. It provided a good distraction from the conflicting thoughts in my head.

This was my first visit to Dimitri's country.

I refused to call it my country. It wasn't mine, not yet anyway. It was not my home.

Loha was.

I seem to experiencing some sort of premature separation anxiety, for every time I thought of living in Russovia, bile rose up my throat.

Loha was my home.

How on earth could I leave my country?

Feeling my eyes burning, I scolded myself for getting sentimental and decided to focus on Russovia as an entirely independent entity.

I'd read about it, researched it under my father's watchful eye, tried to learn their tongue of raega but would that be enough to help me survive there?

It was one thing to read about it, another to actually live it.

I silently thanked Ivan for suggesting the game. I needed a distraction to stop over-thinking.

After a few rounds of card game, three of the Russovian guards joined us. Evidently, they'd figured that I wasn't the type to bite their head off or boss them around.

Much to my delight, the game turned into a riot-fest. Even Lissa withdrew her head from the book to look at us curiously as we played, increasing the bets steadily.

"Take that!" Ivan shouted as he slapped a card on the table.

"Calm down, man." Emil, one of the guards thumped Ivan's back roughly. "It's just a game."

"Just a game, my-"

Ivan was cut off by a quick beep. Patting my pocket, I grinned apologetically. "It's my phone. You guys carry on."

As Ivan and Emil resumed their playful fight, I pulled out my phone to check the message.

Flashing across the screen was a message from Eddie which contained a link to the website of a reputed Russovian news channel.

Eager to see if it would shed some light on whatever it was that Dimitri was keeping from me, I opened the link.

The jitters I was feeling heightened as I read, scrolling the page with shaky fingers.

"What on earth is this?" I gasped out, looking up at Ivan

I could feel them all looking at me but my eyes were on one man only.

"What?" Ivan asked cautiously.

"Is this what he was keeping from me?" I asked him in disbelief.

"Rose-" Ivan began but I held a hand to stop him.

"He lied to me," I told him, gritting my teeth as I looked into his clear gray eyes. "He called me barely an hour ago and yet he didn't say...Damn it!"

"Say what?" Lissa asked, concerned. "What's going on, Rose?"

"Traasa's burned down a village in Russovia," I said, anger and worry coiling in the pit of my stomach. I resisted the urge to swear and kick something.

Lissa gasped at my words and the guards looked at each other apprehensively. Ivan looked pained.

"It's worse," I told Lissa, slumping back in my seat. "Dimitri left the capital to visit the village."

A sharp pang hit my chest as I spewed out the words. Fear for Dimitri was quickly eclipsing everything else.

Is this how he felt when I disappeared to visit the Ranshams?

Swallowing my fear and guilt, I continued: "The article says that the cavalry accompanying Dimitri is quite small and that he may be in danger."

"That's not true!" Ivan protested, coming to life suddenly. "Dimitri will be fine."

"How are you so sure?" I asked him quietly. Desperately.

"The soldiers accompanying Dimitri belong to a special task force who are the best in the entire country," Ivan told me soothingly, recognizing that I needed to hear it. "Besides, the commanders of the Army and the Air force are with him."

"He'll be okay, Rose." Lissa said gently, laying a hand on my shoulder.

When I nodded unconvincingly, Ivan took my hand in his. "Trust me, Rose. I would never have allowed him to go to a danger zone if I didn't think that he'd be protected enough."

Ivan's gray eyes were open and honest as he implored me to trust him.

I exhaled, nodding slightly. "Okay."

"Thank you," Ivan said, smiling as he reverted back to his usual carefree persona. "Now we can get back to our game."

"I don't think I want to," I said blandly.

"Rose, an idle man's brain is a devil's workshop." Ivan said intelligently.

I stared at him and reiterated my words from the previous evening: "I can see why you're Dimitri's best friend."

Ivan's response was a hearty laugh but he succeeded in drawing me back to the game. We spent the next few hours playing a variety of board games to pass time. But even in the midst of laughter and teasing, my mind kept going back to Dimitri.

I wanted him safe, yes. I wanted him far away from the village. But I had to recognize that I'd do the same thing if I was in his place.

They come first…

Which is why I had to do what I had to do.

When the pilot was announced that we'd reached Magadha- the capital of Russovia, I excused myself and headed to the washroom to freshen up. Mentally commending myself for choosing to wear a dress today instead of my usual jeans, I combed my hair and touched up on my make up.

Perhaps jeans would have been a better decision, given the plan I'd come up with…

Eh, there was never a right choice with these things.

When I exited the washroom, I chose to sit by the window by myself, hoping the sight outside should distract me.

Distract me, it did.

The plane had swooped lower than before, providing me a magnificent vantage point. I nearly gasped at the first glimpse of Russovia.

A country that I didn't want acknowledge as mine.

Russovia was like an enchanted land, seeming borrowed straight from fairy-tales. The buildings were huge, the design and construction of each one different from the next. These marvelous buildings were intersected by majestic gardens and broad roads. Glass walled high rise buildings were interspersed by old castles with turrets that seem to reach the sky, providing a perfect blend of ancient and modern styles of architecture. The city itself seemed to be caught between the bygone era and the modern one, much like the life of Russovians who lived in this technologically advanced era but kept to the old traditions and gods.

The glassy skyscrapers didn't have that modern, rectangular block-like look that was so common else. I'd always marveled at how Loha didn't conform to this definition of modernity but neither did Russovia. The buildings here had such a variety of shapes that I'd never seen before. One looked like a long, narrow tower, another one looked like a giant glass pyramid while yet another was made of two towers connected in the middle by a passage.

The sight was making my head spin.

Far off, I could see a stretch of the ocean with white, glittering sand shores. The rays of the late afternoon sun danced on the powerful waves and reflected off the sand.

That I had to see. I'd always had a weird attraction to the ocean and there was no way I was passing up an opportunity to visit what looked like a beautiful shoreline.

Perhaps I could get Dimitri to show me around.

The plane flew through the city and started its descent on a hill that housed one of the most majestic structures I'd ever seen.

The Central Palace of Russovia, the Akshu.

From this angle, I could see five distant palaces forming a crescent shape over the Akshu, just as the books had said. We landed smoothly in no time, the midday sun beating down on us as we walked out of the plane.

The first thing I noticed was that the air seemed denser here, heavier than the Lohan air. Magadha, being a port city, naturally was at sea level while most of Loha lay on a plateau.

A group of people were standing at the foot of the stairs, clearly waiting for us.

For me.

I tried to ignore the sharp pain of disappointment when I thought of Dimitri again. He should have been here.

Reminding myself that I'd see him soon, I followed Ivan and Lissa out of the plane. Slowly walking over to the group, I donned on a civil and polite mask as Ivan quickly introduced Lissa and drew her to a side; the attention shifting to me.

Again, I reminded myself to remain detached; these people were simply strangers, not the people that I'd have to deal with daily in the future.

Thankfully, there was someone familiar in this group of strangers.

Viktoria.

When Vika noticed that she had my attention, she broke away from the group and came over to me, pulling me into a fierce hug. "I'm so happy to see you, Rose!"

I grinned, relaxing a little in her arms. "Good to see you too, Vika!"

"Let me introduce you to others," Viktoria said excitedly and pulled me over to the group standing a little distance away.

Introduce she did.

I smiled and shook hands with all the ministers gathered. Usually, ministers are not required to greet foreign dignitaries at the airport. But seeing as how I was their future queen…

Detachment, Rose!

Dimitri would have been proud of my mask. Then again, had he been here, I wouldn't have to put on a mask.

Faking a smile, I looked around at them: "Thank you for receiving me."

"It was our pleasure," said the heath minister Oksana. She had a kind, beautiful smile. "We look forward to serving you, My Queen."

I raised my eyebrows, not really happy with the acknowledgment.

"Your Majesty!" The prime minister, Raisan Valeroi smiled at me. He was around mid fifties with a receding hairline and blue eyes that seemed to smile. He had a gentle disposition that strangely reminded me of Lissa.

I decided that I liked this guy. Until he said: "You may not be crowned yet but for us, you're already our queen."

The sentiment was sweet enough but I felt like my skin was itching.

"We apologize for the absence of the other ministers, Your Grace." Raisan said with a low bow towards me.

"My dear prime minister," Ivan said lightly, patting him on the back. "Our queen already knows about Halvi."

The mood turned a little sour at the reminder but Raisan smiled politely: "In that case, I can tell you that the absent ministers are with the king, Your Grace."

I nodded somberly.

Viktoria looked at her watch. "The queen mother is expecting her daughter in law, my lords and ladies. If you'll excuse us."

The party dispersed at Viktoria's words, escorting me and Lissa to a black Hummer bearing the royal seal of Russovia: the burning sun. The hummer stood between several cars filled with guards. An ambulance stood at the end of the tail.

Ivan, Viktoria, Lissa and I climbed the car; the three of them soon engaging in a spirited and animated conversation while I stared moodily out of the window. They tried to draw me into the conversation but I didn't say much, choosing instead to observe the various landmarks they pointed out on the way.

"We're entering the Crescent Bay," Ivan said as the cavalcade started a gradual ascent over the hill overlooking the city. "It's the focal point of the city."

"Crescent Bay," I tested out. "Hmm. Isn't that where all the palaces are located?"

Viktoria nodded. "It's called so because the five palaces form a crescent over the Central Palace."

"The Akshu," Lissa remembered. "We've read so much about it, haven't we, Rose?"

Ivan smiled in agreement. "It's a sight to behold."

"Is it true that it's open to the public?" I asked, trying to wrap my head around the concept. It seemed intrusive to have the people visiting the palace like that but the scenario here was different from Loha. We had one great palace as our residence, the Belikovs had five. Six, including the Akshu.

"Parts of it," Viktoria replied. "We use the Akshu for official purposes. I mean, we don't stay there."

"Why would you need to when you have the other five?" I teased.

Ivan and Viktoria laughed.

"Mama hates it," Viktoria confessed. "She'd rather have all of us under the same roof."

Lissa smiled. "I can imagine. Five siblings in five palaces."

"No," Ivan said gently. "Four siblings in four palaces."

"The fifth one is mama's." Viktoria explained.

"Sonya doesn't get one?" I guessed.

"She shares with me when she comes for a visit," Viktoria confessed with a grin. "She hates sharing."

Ivan chuckled. "With good reason. Your palace used to be hers."

Viktoria shrugged. "I didn't ask her to get married and move out."

"We're here," Ivan said suddenly.

Indeed we were. Our car had just passed through a massive gate and came to a stop in front of a large, brick red mansion with ivy and various other flowering creepers covering the walls. It made the palace look more like a home than a just a grand structure.

The homey feeling was further enhanced by the sight of Olena waiting outside the main door.

Her warm brown eyes lit up when I got out of the car.

"Rose," she said, coming forward to engulf me in a huge hug. "How are you, my dear?"

"I'm fine," I assured her, returning the hug. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you." Her demeanor was cheerful and spirited, warm and welcoming as always. Something told me that she didn't know her son was out in the war-zone. "I've never been better. Come here, now. I have to introduce you to someone."

She gestured to a woman standing a few steps behind her.

A woman who looked very familiar.

With brown hair and strikingly familiar deep brown eyes, the woman was very pretty. Her identity was rather obvious.

"You must be Karolina," I greeted her, mentally cataloging the similarities and differences from the Sonya and Viktoria.

The eldest Belikov sibling blinked in surprise before smiling warmly, if not a little apprehensively. "Hello, Princess."

I tried to look more friendly, sensing that this sister was not like Sonya who I'd evidently won over by insulting her, oddly enough. That approach wouldn't work with this one. "Please, call me Rose."

"Thank you," she nodded with a kind smile. She was young but her eyes...they reflected infinite patience and love, like Olena's. "It's nice to finally meet my brother's fiancee."

I swallowed some very good comebacks and smiled. "It's nice to finally meet you too."

While Sonya and Viktoria had this mischievous spark in them, Karolina radiated maturity and understanding. She wasn't icy like Dimitri could be or Sonya as I'd heard. She was warm but carried herself with a sort of dignity that was so prominent in Dimitri.

"I regret missing the engagement ceremony," she told me formally. "My daughter, Zoya, was sick at the time. I was needed here."

"Of course," I said respectfully, nerves on the edge. I hated this formality but knew I had to appease Karolina. Dimitri had been much the same way when we'd just met. While I hadn't cared to impress him then, I knew I had to win over Karolina for everyone's sake.

If my relationship with Dimitri was anything to go by, I knew I had to be careful around his elder sister lest I offend her in some way.

As Karolina and I fell into an uncomfortable silence, my eyes strayed to where Olena was talking with Lissa. Viktoria and Ivan seemed to be holding a private conversation; judging by the shifty looks and hushed voices, they were probably talking about the Halvi situation.

"Where are the kids?" I enquired, unable to take more of the silence.

"I've just put Zoya down for a nap," she told me, tucking her hair behind her ear like Dimitri did so often. "Paul's in school."

I nodded, resisting the urge to tap my foot.

"He's very excited to meet you," Karolina contributed with a small smile.

"It goes both ways," I assured her.

Karolina's smile widened. "Come on in. You must be tired."


I looked up at Ivan with a smile. "You know what I'm going to ask, don't you?"

Ivan sighed, looking like he regretted offering to show me around. Lissa had received an emergency call from the Dragomir Industries- something about a drug not being approved-and so, she'd declined the tour of the Crescent Bay. Viktoria had offered to stay back with her, which left Ivan as my de facto guide.

This was the opportunity I'd been looking for all day.

"It's dangerous," Ivan told me now, looking away from the road to glance at me.

"I know," I said simply, leaning back on the leather seats of Ivan's porche. "But I have to do this."

"No, you don't." Ivan insisted. "Dimitri will have my head if I let you go."

"You're not letting me go," I told him smugly. "You're taking me. If Dimitri asks, tell him I bullied you to do it."

"You are bullying me," Ivan said with a grin.

I shrugged. "Call it what you will. But I'm going."

Yup, my aim was to buy myself a ticket to Halvi, the ravaged town that Dimitri was in. Diplomatically, this was suicide but my instincts told me that Halvi was where I needed to be.

I didn't care two cents for what anyone thought of this move. Hell, my own father wouldn't be happy with me. But this wasn't about the others. This was about me and my duty.

Despite my resistance to see Russovia as my home, I knew it would be. The Russovians would soon be mine, my citizens, my duty.

They come first.

Always.

"It's very dangerous." Ivan felt the necessary to reiterate the sentence.

"Dimitri's there," I pointed out with a smirk. "You said that he wasn't in danger."

"He isn't," Ivan said impatiently. "He has a special task force for his protection. Not to mention, a fragment of the army is in Halvi to help with relief operations."

"Then I don't see the problem," I said, folding my arms across my chest.

"Dimitri will kill me if I take you there," Ivan said helplessly.

I smiled smugly, knowing that he was caving. "I'll protect you, my dear friend. But you can't stop me from going there. So, it really is your choice, Ivan. You can either accompany me there or stay here."

Ivan drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, looking defeated. "Fine. Let's go."

"Cheers!" I grinned when Ivan took a turn and drove along the path we'd followed when coming to Olena's palace. This could only mean we were heading back to the airstrip.

"You're awesome." I told Ivan sincerely when he stopped the car outside the palace airstrip.

Ivan grinned reluctantly. "I'm mad for doing this."

I laughed, "So am I."

"That's not comforting," Ivan retorted before dramatically face palming. "Olena will kill me. You landed barely an hour ago and you're already off."

I patted his shoulder soothingly. "It's okay. I'll take care of everything."

This, of course, was a lie. Just like the Ransham situation, I knew I was getting myself into a shit storm and would probably have to face hell. But unlike before, I wasn't breaking any promise but it was a very small comfort.

I was running the risk of angering Dimitri.

Again.

While I had no desire to repeat the aftermath of that fight, I couldn't bring myself to back off.

There must be something seriously wrong with me.

"Wait here," Ivan told me, eyeing the building at the edge of the ground. "I'll be back in a minute."

I saluted him lazily, smiling at the guards looking at me curiously. This was mental, insane, crazy but I was doing it. I mean, who goes to a foreign country and demands to go the war zone, all the while knowing that there would be a backlash?

Bouncing on my feet to dispel the nervous energy, I walked over to look at a gleaming jet parked close by. It was black and emblazoned with the red sun of Russovia, the contrast beautiful and-

"Excuse me," called a suspicious male voice from behind me. "You're not allowed here."

I turned around curiously, preparing myself to deal with some guard that didn't know who I was.

But I faced someone else instead.

Someone strangely familiar.

Standing behind me was a tall man clad in a pilot uniform, his stance as wary as a coiled snake. With tousled dirty blond hair, the man was strikingly handsome with a chin so sharp it could cut glass...but what got to me was his eyes.

He had dark brown eyes that were intimately familiar.

He had Dimitri's eyes.

Which could only mean that he was-

"Wait," the man frowned, cocking his head. "You're Rose Mazur."

"And you're Ruslan Belikov," I acknowledged with a small smile.

But it wasn't reciprocated.

Rather, his brown eyes narrowed into slits. "What are you doing here?"

Unprepared for the hostility, I resorted to sarcasm. "I was invited here."

Ruslan wasn't impressed. "You were invited to the airport?"

I shrugged. "I didn't know that an exclusive permit was needed to be here. I fear I left it in my bag."

Ruslan muttered something that sounded like 'Lohans'. I got the impression that he wasn't very sarcastic to begin with but by god, was he rude.

Well, I've never been one to let things slip.

"I'm sorry," I told him snidely. "Didn't quite catch that. Do you mind speaking up?"

Ruslan scoffed. "I feel sorry for my brother if he's to be saddled with you for the rest of his life."

I smirked, brushing away the sharp hurt at the low blow. "I feel sorry that Dimitri has been saddled with you since your birth."

Ruslan looked surprised.

"What, did you expect me to cry?" I asked him haughtily. "Sorry to disappoint you but I give as good as I get."

"Clearly," Ruslan spat. "I can see-"

"Ruslan," Ivan called, cutting him off by striding forward. His clear gray eyes flitted between the two of us, taking in the aggressive tension.

"I see you two have met," Ivan said carefully.

I rolled my eyes, ignoring Ruslan's sneer. "Are we ready to go?"

Ivan nodded and gestured in the opposite direction. "The jet's ready. Let's go."

"You're going to Halvi," Ruslan observed.

"No shit, Sherlock." I muttered, stalking away without a backward glance. I was so done with this bratty brother of Dimitri's.

Ivan told him something and hurried after me.

When he drew level with me, I remarked, "what a douche!"

Ivan grinned reluctantly. "He's…difficult."

"You don't say?"

Ivan chuckled. "He's always been prickly around strangers."

I scoffed. "That wasn't so much prickly as it was rude."

"He'll warm up to you," Ivan said rather lamely, without conviction.

"I don't think I care." I said and discovered that I meant it. While it made me a little sad, I realized that I couldn't please everyone. I didn't know what sort of impression I'd made on Karolina and Ruslan was already a disappointment but I had the rest of the set.

I could make do.

A large part of this attitude came from the fact that I was risking Dimitri's wrath by going to Halvi. How could I worry about pissing off his brother when I was risking angering Dimitri himself?

All I could do was hope that Dimitri understands me this time at least.


AN: I know, I know this story is draaaaagiiiiingg but I have no choice! I had this typed up about a year ago so I guess it's all...bleh. I'm so confused as to what to do with this story...I don't think I want to give it to anyone else to complete but there is so much going on and so much pointless stuff in this story! I really hope you all won't be offended if I cut off some story lines to finish it...whenever I can muster the motivation to write :(