A/N: this is a really long chapter for me, I'm pleased with it. Apologies for the delay between chapters, I've been busy with assignments. Thank you to Katrina for editing this chapter for me 3 and I hope you all enjoy this. Reviews would be appreciated but once again I will update regardless.
Disclaimer: I own nothing :( the chapter title – If you ever come back, belongs to The Script, who I borrowed the song title from. Definitely a band worth checking out.
I sat in the departures lounge with Asher. Abe had left and we were waiting for our flight, Abe had decided to surprise me with the destination and it was driving me nuts.
"Do you know what the surprise is, Asher?" I couldn't look at him in case he smiled at me again.
"I do," he chuckled lightly. "But the surprise isn't for me and I don't intend on pissing Abe off."I took a deep breath trying to regain my composure.
"You didn't factor in pissing me off, did you?" I punched his shoulder lightly. "If you don't tell me, the next punch will be a lot harder."
"A punch doesn't scare me Rose," he gave me a cheeky grin
"Oh yeah?" I raised my fist aiming it for his eye. "What about the prospect of a black eye?" He caught my arm before my fist could connect with his face.
"How about no black eye?" he chuckled again. "Do you really want to know?"
"Obviously," I rolled my eyes.
"We're going to…" He leant forward and whispered in my ear. "...still not telling." The warmth of his breath on the side of my face sent a shiver down my spine. I couldn't bring myself to speak staring ahead speechless.
"That's what I thought," he chuckled cockily; we continued our playful banter until our flight number was called. He put his arm around my shoulders, as we approached the checking desk. I instantly began to shrug his arm away feeling as if I was betraying Dimitri when I remembered… he was the one who betrayed me. I let him keep his arm there pushing my ridiculous guilty thoughts away.
"Mr and Mrs Eastwood, enjoy your flight," the female at the desk said handing Asher the tickets as I looked at Asher in alarm; he led me away from the desk. An apparent smirk settling on his lips before he spoke.
"Your father booked the tickets this way so that you couldn't call and find out where we're headed," he chuckled lightly.
"All of this just for a surprise trip. Wow." I shook my head.
My father really was something else. I was beginning to get comfortable with Asher's warm, protective arm around me. We sat down on the plane buckling our belts as the pilot began to speak, I was too busy thinking about Dimitri and Asher and everything else that I only heard the end of it "…I hope you all enjoy your flight to Greece."
I was still shocked that Abe had managed to do this for me but I was oddly excited. The sound of sunny Greece had me grinning, I could sleep on my own schedule, no one to protect, no one to betray me, just relaxation. Spending time with Asher was sounding better than ever.
After a few hours of corny movies and babies crying I found myself asleep. Suddenly I was outside the ski lodge where Adrian and I first met. I looked down at the long strapless blood red gown I was in and instantly knew Adrian was behind it.
"Adrian, where are you?" he stepped out of the shadows in front of me. I felt horrible, I'd forgotten about him in my rush to get away.
"Hello Little Dhampir," there was an underlying tone of sadness in his voice
"Hi…," I held my breath for a moment; I knew what I had to do – what I had to say. "I'm sorry for leaving without say goodbye and forgetting about you. It's just... with everything that's been happening... I just can't deal with it."
"I understand, Little Dhampir," he smiled a little.
"I want to say something…," I trailed off feeling almost guilty as I took a deep breath before continuing. "...I'm sorry Adrian… but I can't keep pretending that our relationship is going to work. I love Dimitri and I always will, as much as that might hurt you and even for me to admit. It has to be said. I do love you Adrian but it's not the same, I know you think you're in love with me but I think there's someone out there for you and I want you to meet that person and not be held back by me. I hope-"
"Rose," Adrian said, cutting me off before I could finish. "I didn't expect you to be with me forever, I hoped you would be... but I knew it wouldn't happen."
"Are you sure? I really don't want to lose you," I definitely wanted to keep him around though I still did feel guilty for not giving him a real chance.
"Of course not, Little Dhampir," he assured me though I knew he was still sad over the breakup. "I'll always be there for you, in your dreams, in reality, anytime you need me." He pulled me into a tight hug as we broke apart I chuckled. I sighed, relieved that he seemed okay with it.
"What have you been up to Adrian?" I asked.
He shrugged. "Just been trying to help Lissa."
"Oh…," I trailed off even more uncomfortable at the mention of Lissa.
"You should know that Lissa and Dimitri did nothing like that while they were together." he chuckled like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Though it still bothered me that they were together for a very long time.
"How do I know that's true, Adrian?" I frowned.
"Because neither of them would ever do that to you," he said. "I talked to Lissa after the trial she said she could feel your anger and resentment and she heard what you were thinking. She tried to talk to you through your bond but you've been keeping your walls up." Guilt washed over me as he explained. How could I even think that about them? I should've known better.
"I wouldn't worry so much about it, Little Dhampir, when you come back I'm sure they'll understand," he said as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. "You will come back, won't you?"
"I'm not coming back yet Adrian, I need to get away, to clear my head and keep myself occupied for a while, I'm no use to anyone the way I am." I sighed; I can't go back so easily. I still needed a break from all this.
"Are you sure?" I nodded and hugged him again.
"I'm sure. Now can I have my own dreams back, please? I'll see you soon." I kissed his cheek. "Thanks for understanding, Adrian."
"Have a good trip and be safe, Little Dhampir," he said before the dream faded. "You will definitely see me soon."
I opened my eyes slowly as I heard Asher saying my name. "Rose, wake up…," he said quietly, at that point I was regretting opening my eyes, I wanted to hear more of his accent.
"Yes?" I looked at him blinking slowly as my eyes adjusted to the light.
"The plane is landing in a couple of hours, I thought you might like to eat and have a drink before then." He gave me another one of his dazzling smiles.
"Thanks Asher," I smiled and began to eat my meal conscious of his eyes on me. He was someone who I got along with instantly, considering I'd been more than reluctant to even have a guardian he was making it worth it. He seemed more like a friend then a guardian my father had hired to travel with me, I still wasn't sure if he really could fight a Strigoi or Even a human though. I finished my food and looked at Asher. "So do you know of any good night spots in Athens?"
"I do, I've been to Athens a few times," he shrugged. "I'll take you to my favourite place when we get there."
The flight passed quickly as Asher and I continued to talk. The more we talked the more familiar he became, less and less the guardian who had been assigned to look after me by my father. We stepped out of the plane into the heat, it hit us right away but it was amazing to be out in the sun and not have to worry about anyone growing weaker, I could sleep at night and live during the day. This was real freedom for me. I had every intention of lying out in the sun and getting an amazing tan. After an hour we made our way out of the very packed, very hot airport. Asher led me toward the chauffer holding a sign with our names on it.
"Wow, Dad really went all out." There was obvious sarcasm in the word dad; I had called him that a few times but it didn't sound as good as Zmey did.
"I think he's just happy to have you in his life, Rose," Asher smiled, for a moment I had forgotten that my father would've briefed him on our relationship as father and daughter.
We followed the chauffer to the stretched limo that my father had apparently arranged; he really didn't do inconspicuous and subtle in any way. I climbed into the back of the limo settling on the seat closest to the door, it may have been huge but I liked knowing the doors were right there; maybe it was a guardian thing. Asher sat beside me in silence, I wondered what he really thought about me and being my guardian, I wasn't a Royal, I wasn't even a Moroi. I was just a plain old Dhampir who probably looked like a spoilt brat being babysat by a good looking guardian. Maybe I would find out in the future but at the moment I was thankful we got along, especially when we're acting like a married couple. The limo pulled up outside the Athens Hilton about twenty minutes later.
We walked into the lobby arm in arm, it still felt strange to be in another man's arms. I realised just how much I missed the feeling of lying there in the cell with Dimitri, the feeling that he really did care, I missed his smell, I missed his eyes, all of it, as much as I still wasn't sure about what went on between Dimitri and Lissa it still hurt to find out without being told by either of them.
We approached the front desk as Asher spoke in his dazzling accent. "Hi there, I've booked a King Executive Acropolis suite," he smiled a dashing smile at the female behind the desk, she was practically hypnotized.
"Okay, what name is it under?" she asked, I could've been standing there, completely naked for all she cared.
"Asher and Rose Eastwood." The girl scowled at me as she typed the names into the computer in front of her before retrieving our key.
"Here you go sir," she smiled seductively handing him the key; there was a pang of jealously running through me as he smiled back at her taking the key. What was that? Why in the world was I jealous? He turned to me before placing his arm around my shoulders again. We reached our top floor suite about 5 minutes later, a comfortable silence enveloped us as we entered the room, and it was huge. I studied the room carefully, in the middle sat a large king bed with a wooden carved headboard and about ten fluffy white pillows. It looked super comfortable. The room was furnished with furniture that both complimented and matched the bed; the couches had light gold upholstery and wooden framing, they were extremely expensive looking as was the rest of the room, I picked up a remote that was lying on the bedside and pressed a random button as a flat screen TV began to rise out of the cabinet at the end of the bed. Wow. This room was everything and more.
I looked back at Asher who was looking out the window. "What are you looking at?"
"Just the beautiful view, come here," he didn't look away from the window; I moved to stand beside him.
"It's… amazing," I mumbled mesmerized by the view of Athens. It was a bit like when I got to Russia, I had spent so much time not really thinking much about it until I saw it for my own eyes, they were both stunning places but Athens was different, it truly looked like the God's had once lived in this city. I stood there for a few more minutes taking in every detail of the scenery before looking at Asher. He seemed to be thinking about something, he wore a look of sadness as his gaze stayed on the same spot the entire time.
"So Asher, what time do you want to head out tonight?" he finally looked away from the window. He was smiling but I could feel a bit of sadness behind it. I was beginning to wonder why.
"I'm not sure Rose, maybe 8? We could go to dinner then go have some fun," he suggested.
"Sounds like a plan," I smiled and nodded. I went over to the bed letting my body flop backwards onto it and before I knew it I was out like a light.
"Rose," a familiar accent said. "Its 7pm, we're supposed to go in an hour." I slowly opened my eyes to find Asher sitting on the edge of the bed beside me with a warm smile after shaking my shoulder lightly.
"Shit, why didn't you wake me up earlier?" I groaned, getting up.
"Well, you looked so peaceful," he said simply. "Now I'm going to watch some television while you get ready."
I got up and walked over to my suitcase. I began looking for something suitable to wear. Asher was wearing a dark pair of jeans with a grey shirt and a black blazer and some black leather shoes, his hair was as messy as it was the moment I met him. I pulled out a turquoise dress I had bought a months ago, it was strapless and cropped just below the chest area, it was tight fitting and sat just below the upper thigh, the dress hugged my body and emphasized my curves. It didn't leave much to the imagination much like the dress Tasha had given me before the trip to ski lodge, but that was exactly why I bought it, I was old enough to make my own decisions and not have my mother lecturing me on what to wear.
I picked up the dress and my other essentials entering the bathroom; I locked the door behind me and stripped away my travel clothes before turning the shower on. I waited until the water was scolding hot and got in letting the water hit the knots in my shoulders and back, I slowly relaxed letting all the thoughts drift away. I didn't want to think about Lissa or Dimitri or Adrian or anything else in this moment, it was time to let go for a while and have some fun with Asher.
As I washed my hair my thoughts soon drifted to Dimitri and how much he loved it, he was the one who told me to keep my hair long, to tie it back unlike the rest of the female Guardians who cut their hair into short pixie type cuts to show off their Molnija marks, it was a part of me that I wasn't willing to lose. I began to scold myself for letting my thoughts drift so easily to him, the more I told myself not to think about Dimitri the more I did.
I turned the water off and got out of the shower wrapping a towel around my body, I took a few deep breaths to calm myself before drying my body off before slipping my dress on, it fit like a glove and the turquoise colour contrasted perfectly with my dark hair and made my tan skin look darker, I ran a brush through my wet hair letting it dry naturally as I applied some make up. I stepped out of the bathroom as Asher turned to greet me.
"You look amazing Rose," he said as he attempted to pull his eyes away from my body.
"You don't look so bad yourself, Ash," I gave him a lazy grin flattered by his reaction. I pulled a purse out of my suitcase, placing the essentials in it, lipstick, my stake – my freedom still had a down side, some cash and my cell phone.
It was 8:30pm by the time Asher and I left the hotel on foot, the place he wanted to take me wasn't far from the hotel. We walked further up ahead until began to turn into a side alley, an uneasy feeling swept through me as Asher led me in. "It's just a quick short cut rather than going right around the block," he explained, as we got closer to exiting the alley, a familiar wave of nausea hit me.
"Asher… Strigoi!" I managed to get out before I was hit in the back of the head.
A/N: Soo...what did you think?