I'm sorry for the long wait, but I just couldn't get this chapter right. Thank you for all you reviews, they were much appreciated, and I'll try to have another chapter out really soon. Please review and I hope you enjoy.
"Very good, soldier. Remain on alert." I told him sternly, Tom giving me a wide smile in return. I turned to face the door, and kicked it wide open with my boot. Best to make a good first impression. Our captive had his head on the desk as I came in, but his head came up as I entered. I met his familiar eyes and I was suddenly out of air.
"Well shit!" I swore.
I backed out the door immediately, breaking eye contact. My unexpected exit made Tom jump, but I didn't give him time to respond and instead barked out an order.
"Everyone in this corridor clear out." The guards lining the corridor all just looked confused. "Now!" I yelled. "Get out!" Everyone started moving, except Tom who looked at me in utter confusion.
"I'm giving you a direct order." I told him. "You need to leave right now, before I make you leave. I'm serious. Go."
He seemed to realize this wasn't just an act and as I stared him down, he turned and left. I watched him walk to the end of the corridor, at the door he paused but as he saw me watching him, moved out and slammed the door behind him.
I took a moment to gather my breath, and then moved back into the room. I drew up the chair by the table and turned it around so I was leaning on the back of the chair, as I looked at him.
"Rose." He said simply, leaning onto the table with his bound hands in front of him.
"Edison Castile. What a surprise." I said coolly. "I would have thought the Queen wouldn't have used you as her little errand boy. Surely she values you more than that."
He looked shocked at my behavior and I didn't blame him. I was in a bad state of mind. I was shocked beyond belief, whilst still being furious that we were being forced back to court. I was also fighting against all the memories that were trying to gain control of my emotions, and I was scared they were winning.
"Well this is also a surprise." Eddie said, trying to replicate my emotionless demeanor but I could see right through it. "I didn't quite expect the ruthless organization who captured me and Lady Taurus," at Lady Taurus' name he grimaced, and I knew that he was feeling that he had failed in his duty as a guardian. It took a lot for me not to immediately reassure him that he was a wonderful guardian but I restrained myself, using my anger as a stronghold.
"To be led by the one and only Rosemarie Hathaway."
I grimaced at the name, and snapped at him. "My name is no longer Rosemarie Hathaway, I am Rose Bell, and I would like for you to address me as either Ms. Bell, or Commandant. Whatever you prefer. "
"Jeez, you've turned into a real bitch Rosie." I slammed my hands down on the table, barely noticing the stinging pain.
"Shut up." I told him. I pushed the chair back, and paced back and forth. I took this brief interlude to study him. He had the same sandy blond hair and hazel eyes. He looked strong and powerful, his biceps bulging under his shirt. It was a testament to my team's skills that they managed to take him out and subdue him without harming him. I was so confused. Eddie was like my brother and I had abandoned him completely, and now he comes, through no fault of his own, and I treat him like shit. Something in my behavior wasn't adding up.
"Rose-" He started.
"Please." I asked him. "Just let me think."
He nodded at me, and then just sat there, studying me like I had him. Staring at him, all I saw was the little boy who had played with me on the playground, who had defended me against teachers who'd yelled at me, who had comforted me when my mother hadn't shown for yet another holiday. He was the lanky teenager who had trained with me until I had perfected my next move, waiting patiently even when everyone else had left. The boy who had tried to defend me against the Moroi boys who had relentlessly pursued me. He was the young man who I had clung to when Mason had died, who had then sworn to protect me. He was the one who had risked his life and career to help me save Dimitri, always staying by my side. He had been my brother in all but blood, and I had repaid him like this. I was a despicable person.
I strode over to the table, and flicked the knife out of my shirtsleeve. Eddie flinched and I realized he actually thought I would hurt him.
"Don't worry." I told him. "I won't hurt you. I couldn't." He blinked at me, staying quiet. In a quick move I ran my knife through the ties that were binding his wrists. He rubbed them together, regaining circulation, still not taking his eyes off me.
"Sorry about that." I whispered. "We wouldn't actually hurt you."
"Unfortunately Rose- sorry I mean Commandant- I just don't believe you." He said cynically.
"You think I'd actually let anyone hurt you?" I asked in horror. Had I really changed so much?
"Rose, not only do I think you'd let others hurt me, but I know you'd hurt me. You already have." I looked at him, horrified, as he continued. "You hurt me the minute you left, without even saying goodbye and I don't doubt that you wouldn't hesitate to do something like that again. "I looked up at him, this boy I had always known as a brother, tears glistening in my eyes. He saw me, and his expression softened. I couldn't stand his sympathy. I deserved his hatred.
I put my head down on the desk, and started sobbing. He sat still for a moment, and then I heard him move. Suddenly I felt a hand lightly stroking my hair and Eddie whisper, "Shh Rose it's okay. I didn't mean it. I'm sorry." His apology drew me over the edge. I thrust my chair back, knocking it over in the process, and stood up.
"Don't you dare apologize to me." I shouted. "Don't you ever apologize. Do you hear me? You're not allowed to apologize."
He looked stunned, his hand still hovering over where my hair had been. I kicked open the door and stormed outside. I slammed the door behind me and took off down the corridor, not getting very far, before my tears overtook me. I slid down the wall, letting all my emotions loose, my desperate sobs echoing down the hall.
My thoughts were colliding in my head, spinning around, and I couldn't get a firm grip on anything. After about five minutes of desperate tears, I started to pull myself together. I started with an empty box in my mind, and started piling my problems in. First I put in Court's letter, and that in turn reminded me of Lissa, then of Christian, and the accompanying emotions that followed. I put in all my emotions about Eddie, about what I was doing to him, and how much I just wanted to get down on my knees and beg his forgiveness. I put in Dimitri and the guilt I constantly carried about taking his daughter away from him.
Finally I was calm, my red eyes the only signal of my outburst. I was about to head back, when I felt the corridor door swing open. I spun around, ready to bark out an order, when I saw it was Master Gregori. He looked concerned, and I realized Tom must have fetched him from the obstacle course, which he had decided to distract himself with while this operation occurred.
"Rose what's going on?" He asked, coming closer he saw my face, and was suddenly frantic. "What's happened? What's wrong? Did he do something to you?"
"No, no. It's not that. I just-" I paused, trying to work out how much to tell him. "I know him. He was like my brother, and I left him all those years ago, and the memories overcame me and I needed a moment to work out what to do. "
"Ok. That's okay." He said, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder. "You do whatever you need to do. I believe in you. I know you had your reasons for leaving and I'm sure you'll figure out what to do now. You always do"
"Thank you." I told him, his complete faith in me revitalizing me.
"Would you like me to come in with you?" He asked
"Yeah." I said, wiping my face. "That would be good." We walked in together,
Master Gregori only a step behind me, silently showing his support.
"This is Master Gregori." I told Eddie, who had stood up when I entered. "And this is Edison Castile."
"I'd say nice to meet you, but I have no idea who you are, and why you captured me, so that wouldn't be true." Eddie said, using false bravado to hide his fear at seeing Master Gregori, who looked very intimidating, dressed all in black.
"I could say the same." Master Gregori said. "But in this case, you're actually trying to forcibly remove me from my safe haven along with countless other Dhampirs, whose lives you'd be ruining." Eddie just blinked at him.
"What are you talking about?" Asked Eddie finally, rubbing his forehead. Master Gregori scoffed, and I drew the letter out of my pocket and threw it on the desk in front of him.
"Don't you remember this?"
Eddie picked it up and scanned through it, his eyes widening as he read it.
"We didn't send this." He told me. "I promise you Rose, we didn't send this."
"Who did then?" I asked, relaxing slightly as I realized that Eddie hadn't changed so far as to write that terrible letter.
"I don't know, but we never sent a letter. We were meant to contact you face to face, we thought about writing a letter but Lissa ruled it out, she said we had to make a good first impression."
"Well you've done very well in that task." Master Gregori said sarcastically. This was one of the few times when I'd seen Master Gregori angry and it was scary. He wasn't backing down.
"I'm serious." Eddie said indignantly. "We would never send a letter like this. Rose please say you believe me. Lissa would never write this. I promise you. Rose?"
"I don't know Eddie. I just don't know." I told him honestly. "I haven't been at Court for four years. How should I know?"
"That's your fault. Not mine." Eddie told me. His words hit me like a slap in the face, and Master Gregori strode around to face Eddie.
"Don't you go allocating blame, especially not on Rose. She doesn't deserve it."
"It's okay." I told them both. "Let's just forget about all our history, and discuss why you're here." Both men sighed, but settled down, Master Gregori moving to sit next to me.
"Was there a letter written in the first place?" I questioned.
"I have no knowledge of one being sent, maybe Lissa did after I left, but I promise I had no involvement in that." Eddie answered earnestly.
"Okay then. Why did Lissa send you in the first place?"
"Because..." He said trailing off, his face flushed with embarrassment. "Because we need help."
"Help?" Master Gregori asked, leaning forward.
"We've had so many Dhampirs abdicate, that our numbers are at an all time low. The Strigoi are overtaking us and the Moroi are refusing to take action. That's why we came here; there are no Strigoi in this area at all. It looked like we could really learn from you."
"And Queen Vasilisa?" I asked. "What's she doing?"
"She's trying, but it's hard. The Moroi just don't want to change, and she's struggling. She wanted your advice."
"So what does she want us to do? To return for good?" Master Gregori asked.
"No. She just thought that since this establishment was going so well, you could advice her on how to handle things. Also our observing guardians have noticed that the Dhampirs here have incredible technique and skill, and she wishes for you to help teach the Court guardians. We had no idea you were here Rose."
"And Hans? What does he think about this?" I asked, unable to think of stiff old Hans, being willing to let someone come in and show him how to run things.
"Hans isn't Head guardian anymore Rose." Eddie told me sadly.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Hans died during a Strigoi raid three years ago. He sacrificed himself for another guardian. He was a true hero. We have a new Head Guardian now. He fully supported Lissa in this."
"Who is he?" I asked.
"Guardian Belikov." I froze. "He was Lissa's Guardian briefly after-" He paused, giving me a look. "After Lissa's coronation when a position emptied but he just couldn't do it, it wasn't enough of a distraction. She appointed him Head Guardian after Hans died." I nodded silently, my heart bleeding.
"He was actually meant to come instead of me, but there was a Strigoi attack just before he was about to leave and Lissa sent me." I silently thanked the Gods that Dimitri hadn't come; I couldn't have handled that at all. Especially with Ivy so near us. I would have lost it before he had even spoken one word.
"How bad is this Strigoi epidemic?" Master Gregori asked.
"It's getting really bad." Eddie told us. "There seems to be an attack every other week. We just can't keep up. "
"Would this be permanent stay?" Master Gregori asked.
"No. Not at all. We hoped you could come for at least two months though. We would provide all accommodation and food." Eddie said.
Master Gregori nodded, and rubbed his head.
"I think that does sound good. Would we-" Master Gregori started but I cut him off, in disbelief that he was actually considering this.
"I need to discuss this with you," I told him. Master Gregori just stayed in his seat.
"Outside." I snapped.
"Sorry," Master Gregori said to Eddie, moving outside with me.
"That was rude Rose." He admonished me, shutting the door. Gentle, caring Master Gregori was back. Yay.
"Well I'm sorry but I didn't expect that you'd actually take him seriously. I thought you said we would never leave." I said, crossing my arms across my chest.
"It's not permanent Rose, and it sounds like they really need help. This is our chance to show them that they were wrong in their treatment of us. We can show that we didn't need them to be strong. That we can flourish all by ourselves without the Moroi. This is a real opportunity."
"No one will go with you." I told him, stubbornly.
"I think they will Rose. There are only good people here, and I know they would briefly give up our home here, to help others and also just to prove a point. We can survive, and flourish without the Moroi." I groaned knowing what he was saying was true. "Surely whatever drove you away from court, is not bad enough that you can never return. I would support you Rose, in your decision, but I think this is a necessary step for the Complex, to get over our hatred and distrust of Court and its policies. I think you know that to."
I knew this was Master Gregori's way of telling me that it didn't matter what I said. We would be going back to Court. My insides churned at the thought, but I wasn't as afraid anymore. I hadn't heard from Dimitri's father in over three years, and if I was careful and didn't get to close to Dimitri or alert him of Ivy's parentage, it would be okay. Master Gregori saw the decision in my face, and broke into a smile.
"I knew you would make the right decision Rose. Everything will be fine."
"Sure." I told him. "Everything will be fine."
Now if only I could convince myself of that.
So I'm very sorry it wasn't Dimitri, but some of you did guess Eddie, so good job! I was planning on having Dimitri appear( and so did Lissa) but this worked out much better, and I want a better reunion scene then this. Please review and tell me what you think is going to happen when Rose goes back to Court. Will there be trouble? Thank you for reading.
