I said I would update on Tuesday and I have. I won't torture you any longer with another long A/N. Please enjoy!
I managed to get back to my room before I started crying. I was frantically unlocking the door, tears running down my face, when it opened from the inside. Jade stood there looking sympathetic, her eyes conveying that she knew exactly what had happened.
"Oh Rose." She said. I stepped inside, locking the door, before I started really sobbing.
She led me to the couch and wrapped her long arms around me. I collapsed into her chest, and she just hugged me tighter. This should have been Lissa. Four years ago this would have been Lissa. That thought just made me cry harder. Lissa's betrayal was something I hadn't fully contemplated yet, and I'm sure when I really thought about it, it would hurt even more. Jade murmured soothing sounds to me, rubbing my back. Suddenly I felt a small weight drop on top of me, and two small arms wind around my neck.
"Mummy?" Ivy asked worriedly. "What's wrong?" I turned around to hug her, trying to stop crying.
My daughter would not see me so upset. It was unfair to her. No child should see their mother cry. So I put my chin up and gave her a smile.
She gave me a small smile in return, her small fingers wiping the tears off my face.
"Thank you angel." I told her, smoothing her hair back.
"What's wrong Mummy?" She asked again.
"I got a bit upset, because of something someone said, but I'm fine now. I'm sorry you saw me crying."
"S'okay, Mummy." She said, giving me a bigger smile. "But you're silly."
"And why is that?" I asked, trying, and failing, to raise one eyebrow.
"Cos you shouldn't care what other people say. You told me that." She said, in that moment looking just like her dad, her brown eyes looking at me seriously.
"You are so smart." I told her, tapping her on the nose. "I am silly."
She laughed at me, then sprung off my lap, running out of the room. I heard her rattling around in my suitcase, while Jade and I looked curiously after her. She reemerged soon, holding my camera in her small hand.
"We haven't done photo time today." She told me. My heart dropped. There was no use now. She would never meet Dimitri. Not after today.
"We're not doing photo time anymore, Ivy."
Her whole face dropped.
"Why?" She whined.
"Because." I told her simply.
"But how will they know what I look like?"
"Who?" I asked, frustrated that she wouldn't just drop it.
"The persons we take picture for." She elaborated, her forehead scrunching up. I had always told Ivy that we were taking pictures for someone to look it, so they would know who she was. It seemed that had been a mistake.
"We're not taking pictures anymore Ivy." I told her sternly. She glared at me, before scrunching up her eyes, soon a tear began to fall.
"Do not make yourself cry Ivy." I told her, this was one of her tricks, and it usually worked. "That's not fair."
"Pleeeease." She whined. "I want picture."
"No." I told her.
"Yes." She said, stomping her foot.
"Ivy." I snapped. "I will not tolerate this type of behavior."
"Too bad." She said. She sounded just like me when I was a child. Except she wasn't throwing things yet.
"Ivy, I'm warning you."
Jade swooped in before things could escalate. "Ivy I'll take your picture, okay?"
Ivy huffed, but nodded and stood beside the door, while Jade took her photo.
"Go watch some TV." Jade told her, shooing Ivy into the bedroom, Ivy shot me a dirty look and slammed the door behind her. Jade then settled herself beside me, tucking her feet under a cushion.
"What did he say?" She asked.
"Who?" I asked, pretending not to know what she was talking about.
"Dimitri." She said simply, her expression showing she could see right through me.
"How did you know?" I asked softly.
"I heard the Queen boasting about it, when she came out. We were waiting for you, but she ordered us away. On a side note, she really is a bitch isn't she?"
"Yeah." I agreed, this time not bothering to stick up for her. "What do you know about Dimitri and me?"
"What everyone knows. You two were together, some suspect that you were together even when he was your teacher. And I know you were in love with him, I could see it in your face."
I nodded briefly.
"He told me that he didn't love me anymore, that he never would." Jade's face was full of compassion but she didn't move. "That's why I was so upset."
Jade nodded her understanding.
"He's the father isn't he?" She asked calmly.
"What?" I exclaimed, jumping from my seat. "What do you mean?"
"It's pretty obvious Rose. As least to me. Ian thinks so too." I started to shake my head.
"No. It's not true." I told her, coming closer.
"Rose. Stop lying to me." She told me quietly.
I thought about flat out denying it. Telling her that she was crazy. But she'd seen my reaction, if he wasn't the Father, I would have just laughed about it. She knew. But I also knew she would keep my secret. She didn't know my friends at Court, and there was no way she'd tell Dimitri if I told her not to. Maybe telling someone about it, would help me feel better, more in control. It couldn't hurt at his point.
"Fine. You were right. Dimitri's… Dimitri's her Father. But you can't tell Ian, okay? You can't tell anyone." I told her, my fingers gripping into her arm, my eyes wild.
"Relax Rose. I'll always keep your secrets. You don't need to worry about that."
"How did you know?" I asked again, my head down in despair.
"I suspected it, since I got back here and found out you were Rosemarie Hathaway. You'd already told us the father was a Dhampir. Who else would you have slept with? Then you were so upset about what Dimitri had said, which I knew had to be pretty terrible, and then you refused to take the photo, which I suspected were for him. Pretty basic detective work."
I sighed quietly, cursing myself for my carelessness. Here I thought I was being so careful when really anyone paying attention could tell. In a way it was a blessed coincidence that my friends at Court were being so distant.
"Does he know?" She asked cautiously. I shook my head.
"Should he know?" She asked.
"No. He can't know." I told her. "Promise me, you won't tell anyone. Promise me."
"I promise." She told me, squeezing my hand. "Don't worry." I was still panicking but not as much as I would have been had it been one of my old friends. I knew I could trust Jade with my life.
"Thank you." I told her. "For being here for me."
"That's what friends are for." She said, giving me a quick hug. "And I'll always be here for you." Jade glanced at her watch, looking torn. "I know this is bad timing, but I'm supposed to meet Ian for coffee…"
"Really?" I said. "Just coffee?" I asked innocently. The chemistry between the two was undeniable, however neither of them had ever acted on it. She rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile.
"I can stay though?" She offered, ignoring my taunts.
I shook my head. Jade was so selfless, always putting other's needs first. But I would fine now. I had to be.
"Thanks, but I'll be okay. You go drink some coffee and have fun," I said with a wink.
She stood up, her smile growing.
"Okay, if you're sure. But let me know if you need anything. I'll talk to you later."
"You'll have too. We have a meeting tomorrow, with all the guardians."
"We don't have to be there do we?" She asked.
"We have a quick meeting beforehand, with just the Complex members. "
"Oh ok." She said, "I'll tell Ian and Seth."
"It was on an e-mail, which was sent out. I think they already know. "
"Oops." She said with a sheepish grin. "I haven't really been checking that."
"See you tomorrow then." I called out after her, as she went into the bedroom to say goodbye to Ivy.
The evening passed peacefully, I made up with Ivy, when I promised to let her wear some of my high heels, and we made some pasta and watched yet another viewing of Frozen.
The next morning, I woke early, knowing I had the meeting. I busied myself cleaning the apartment, trying to forget about Dimitri's words and that Jade knew about Ivy's parentage. Ivy woke up soon, and I even made her pancakes, which we both gobbled down, even the burnt ones.
At eight we left, though the meeting was at nine. I wanted to discuss something with Master Gregori. He was already at the meeting hall, going over some notes, and after setting Ivy up with a colouring book, I went over to talk to him.
"Rose." He said with a smile. "Up bright and early this morning I see."
"I wanted to talk to you about something." I asked, hesitantly. "I know you placed Di- Guardian Belikov and me together for the mentoring program but is there a possibility that we could change that?"
Master Gregori looked at me curiously. "Let me take a look," he said, ruffling through his papers for a while, before setting them down with a sigh. "I can't Rose. The timetable is all set. To change it would disrupt everything. I'm sorry but I won't be able to do that."
Of course. Nothing could go well for me.
"Oh well." I said, trying to block out the terrifying notion of me and Dimitri spending hours together, alone. Him glaring daggers and me holding back tears. I was smiling just thinking about it. Not.
"I actually wanted to talk to you about something." Master Gregori said, looking up from his papers.
"Shoot." I said leaning against the table.
"We're having our first drill today, with a mock Strigoi attack. However the whole court will need to go into lockdown. In the case of an actual Strigoi attack, we would place Ivy in the bunker with the Moroi, to assure her safety. I was thinking you could stay down there with her today. Just for this mock attack." He said hurriedly, seeing my face. "You know she will be scared, and the other complex members will be busy, playing their roles. Maybe you'll be able to make some friends with the Moroi there, so they can look after her in the case of an actual attack. For today we don't need you, as it is no real emergency. In the case of a real attack, I know of course you'll be in the frontline." I nodded my agreement. "Ivy will be in the main bunker, with the Queen and her entourage. We'll also set up the main control center there, so you can keep an eye on that as well. That's where Guardian Belikov will be, making orders and overseeing what's going on through the surveillance footage. Though maybe we should cut some of the footage, just to see if they'll manage. That's a good idea, I should write it down." He turned around, looking for a piece of paper, while I kept a pained grin on my face.
This day was just getting worse and worse. Now I was going to be stuck with Dimitri, Lissa and Christian in the bunker with Ivy. Just perfect. Master Gregori didn't, or pretended not to notice my expression, and carried on with his work. I spent the rest of the hour helping Master Gregori putting the last pieces of information together before the Complex members arrived.
After they had all trooped in at nine, Master Gregori told them about the mock attack, and the roles they would be playing. They were all in groups, that each had a specific location to attack and take control of. We also arranged who was covering the Guardian's shifts when they came for their meeting at ten. The Complex members all grumbled at the news they would be guarding the Moroi, but after some sharp reprimands from me they bit their tongues. Soon they left, though the last minute instructions given by Master Gregori about the attack improved their moods. He told them to use as much force as necessary without causing permanent damage. A few asked if broken noses and bones were permanent damage, but Master Gregori drew the line there.
When the Guardians came in for their meeting they were notably quieter and subdued, especially under the eagle eye of Dimitri. I did my best to not meet his eyes, though as he sat down in the front row, I could feel him glaring daggers at me. I felt like running and hiding, or just curling up in a ball right there, and crying. I couldn't do either though, all I could do was sit there, and pretend the love of my life hadn't just declared his hatred for me, all the while keeping a blank expression on my face.
Master Gregori and I introduced ourselves, and then Master Gregori told the Guardians about the new training program, and the mentoring system. They were not happy to say the least. I avoided interacting with them, instead sitting in the corner with Ivy, while Master Gregori answered questions. Finally the meeting drew to a close, and Master Gregori made the closing statement.
"This meeting is nearly dismissed. We have covered a lot today, but I have one more thing to tell you." Master Gregori said, with a mischevious smile on his face. " In less than a minute's time, my entire Complex will come bursting into Court. And they will be Strigoi. This is your first test." At this, all the Guardians broke into mutters of discord. 'A simple tap to the heart is sufficient to 'kill' the 'Strigoi'. They will then go and patrol the grounds in case there comes an attack from actual Strigoi. However we will also be taking prisoners. Guardians will be taken to the jail, where you will remain until the attack is over. You are trying to protect Court to the best of your ability. This is about your organization and response time. We are testing you to see how you work as a team. How in the case of an actual attack you would manage." A few people in the audience raised their hands, but Master Gregori ignored them. "So let it begin." The emergency alarm rang out and the room erupted into chaos.
A bit of a filler chapter I know, but it is setting up events that will become very important later. So what do you think? Jade now knows, and Ian already suspects. Also what do you want to see happen in the bunker with Lissa, Christian, and Dimitri, as well as Rose and Ivy. I will take all your suggestions into consideration. Please review and tell me what you think. Have a great day/night.
