Chapter nine

Ugh. God why did my head hurt so much. Arg that's right those freakin' guardian made me hit my head. Damn them. Opening my eyes I scanned around the room, trying to pin point on my general location. Great. I was in some sort of an interrogation room. Searching for a way out I only managed to discover a small vent, which would probably be able to fit my one year old daughter into. Speaking of daughter, where the hell was Catherine? If they locked her up in a cell with all those other creepy criminals… Hell is going to pay.

Deciding there were no easy escape route, I came to the conclusion of making one myself. So trying out every single point in the room, which was basically kicking every wall and finally the door. Damn, the material in this place was like Plexiglas, like hell I'm going to break through this stuff.

Suddenly the door of the room swung open and in stepped a figure behind it. Oh wonderful, couldn't they have gotten my interrogator to be someone else. Anyone other than her would possibly due, or at least someone I didn't despise.

"Have a seat." She said sternly, gesturing to one of the two chairs that were sitting opposite at a metal table. Giving her an evil glare I sat down obediently, waiting for her to get to the point.

"Rose don't fool around, you're in a lot of trouble and I'm going to do my best to get you out of it." She said, actually trying to disciplined me for my recent actions. God she hasn't been there for the majority of my life, but whenever she is there she thinks she has some superior link over me.

"Whatever you say, mother." I bitterly said.

"Rose!" She yelled."What were you even thinking? You had months to go at the academy, but you decided to go after some mentor. Rose I know you were devastated over Dimitri's death, but leaving the academy, months before graduation, was a stupid thing to do on your part."

"Dimitri is not dead." I seethed.

"Rose he's a Strigoi, he kills people. And it seems that not even you could finish him off. Why Rose? That's what I want to know, why?" She questioned.

"Because it's a secret." I said throwing a grim smile onto my face.

"Rose this is no time for games, now tell me the truth why is Dimitri still alive?" Man was she getting angry with me. But I wasn't going to play by her rules, I was making my own.

"Mom." I said calmly."Where is he?" I asked. Raising an eyebrow she seemed stunned that I actually cared on his whereabouts.

"So it is true they did brainwash you." She said with a soft smile. Ugh, could she be any more annoying then she already was now? "Don't worry Rose we'll get you back to your old self in no time." She promised, gratefully.

"Mom! I'm not being brainwashed, nor have I ever been. The only people who have actually ever even tried to brainwash me were the guardians." I informed her.

"Rose I'm surprised with you, how can you even care for those creatures, they kill and torture for blood and power." She shouted to me.

"Mom listen to me." I found myself pleading."There not like other Strigoi, there different." She scoffed at my remark, absolutely unmoved by the statement I just made. "It's true." I finished, somehow hoping these two words would allow her to believe my plea.

"Tell me Rose, what does Dimitri have that all those other Strigoi's don't?" Acknowledging her question I decided that I was done with lying. Maybe the truth could hopefully save Dimitri if she only knew it.

"Because mom…." How do I put this right?'Mom Dimitri and I are madly in love and oh yeah we have a child.' 'Mom Dimitri is my husband and like hell you're ever going to take him from me.' How could this be so difficult, but so simple at the same time.

"Well." My mom encouraged me, becoming impatient with my overlooking of the subject. Sighing I opened up with the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God.

"Dimitri loves me." I mumbled, but from the look on her face I think she got the message.

"He loves you." She said, absolutely sounding like she believed me, again.

"Uh-huh." I confirmed.

"Rose." She said shaking her head.

"There's something else." I went on.

"What Rose?" She asked un-amused with the information I had just shared with her, and probably annoyed that I had more to give.

"We're…. We're married." I said holding up my wedding bands for her to see. She gasped and let her hand grasp mind as she laid one finger on the golden band, as if to see if it were actually real.

"It's okay Rose, we'll just…. We'll just get an annulment." She said as she collected herself from my recent announcement.

"What?!" I shrieked.

"Well Rose you can't actually be married to a Strigoi." She said flatly.

"Mom I'm not getting an annulment. I love Dimitri and he loves me. For all you know we were both happily married until your little group of guardians came and disrupt our lives." I babbled.

"The town was being ransacked." She stated trying her best to defend herself."By Strigoi. And you were going to sit back and watch them all die."

"No." I firmly stated."I had to stay behind to protect Catherine." I angrily replied.

"Who's Catherine?" My mom asked, taking a new turn into our creative conversation. Okay so it wasn't a conversation, it was more like my mom screeching at me in some dire need to have some sort of control in my life.

"Where is she?" I said. I was through playing her stupid games, I wanted my daughter and I wanted her now.

"First off I would like you to tell me who she is?" I mother stated, feigning confusion of the matter.

"Like you would know, I know she's here somewhere, now tell me where she is."

"Hmm, if I'm not going to allow you to see your Strigoi husband why should I allow you to see your Strigoi friend." Strigoi friend. Maybe she didn't know who Catherine was. Well that was perfect, let my mom know that I had a child with her enemy.

"Fine mom." I said not wanting to give anything else away."I'll do whatever you want, so what do you want from me anyways?" This way I'll get out of her sooner and the sooner I could find Catherine and then come back to rescue Dimitri from this horrid vicinity.

"Really now?" She asked, happy that I was finally going along, to at least give her some sort of information."Where are the others?" She questioned promptly.

"That question I don't know the answer to." I told her sincerely.

"Explain?" She ushered.

"Well living in a house of Strigoi, I was basically a prisoner." I lied, she didn't need to know the truth of my family yet."It wasn't until Dimitri finally showed up when I actually had the choice of leaving or not. And I decided to stay. Wow, I guess really I was brainwashed." I said sarcastically with a chuckle, this time I had the advantage, where she would have to believe ever single word that I said. " Then I guess one thing led to another, and Dimitri and I were married. That was when Catherine came along."

"Your friend." My mother hinted.

"Yes mother my darling Strigoi friend." I said with a false smile." Anyway after about a month or so later the town was attacked by a group of Strigoi. I was told to stay and watch Catherine as the others went off to fight the other Strigoi."

"Fight them off?" My mom asked confused.
"Most Strigoi don't like Dimitri's group, see Dimitri and the others have kind of have a… different outlook on the Strigoi world."

"Oh, huh." She acknowledged.

"Yeah so then the guardians came, we all got seperated and her I sit. I guess I've made a few mistakes with my life huh mother?" Not. What was I saying? God I have no idea who this person was in body, but man was she a good liar. My mother was soaking up every detail I let down for her.

"Nothing we can't fix." She said. Wow she really did believe me this time. Awesome, and FYI for her, me and Dimitri are not getting a divorce. I don't care what she says, I don't care, I love Dimitri and no way in hell is mother going to split us up for nothing.

"Is there any way to get out of here?" I asked her as she smiled at me. Grateful to the fact of me letting loose all of the misleading information I had just given her. Truth is I did no where the other Strigoi were.

"Well since you have given me all the information that you know, I think I could pull some strings and let you out if this room."

"Great." I breathed.

It didn't take long before I was smelling the sweet Scottish air once more. Apparently, the guardians transported us to Scotland after our little fight back in Eastern Russia. Nobody was watching me, nobody cared. I guess their stupid enough to believe that a couple hours in solitary confinement would put me back on there side. Hah, no. I needed to find her. I needed to find Mary. I knew she would have caught up with the others, and that meant Catherine would be with them.

Heading onto a spiraling trail I picked up my pace into a near run and headed into the shrubbery that surrounded the place. I'll come back for you Dimitri I thought as I bounded into the brush. About a mile in I stood my ground already a long ways off from any of the Dhampir's hearing range, but not for Strigoi. Checking my surroundings I called out for my best friend, who I would hoped could hear my distress signal.

"Mary, where are you?! Mary please can you hear me?!" Birds flew from the trees but everything else stayed silent. I sighed, maybe she didn't follow us, maybe she already declared Ben to be dead and stayed behind with the others. Suddenly a burst of wind blew from behind and I completely ignored it, starting back towards the jail. Back to my husband.

"Uhh hello, rude much." A voice called from behind me. I wheeled around facing the exact person who I wanted to see.

".God. Hi." However, it wasn't Mary who I sent my greetings to. It was the little girl wrapped in her arms. Taking the small child from Mary I held her into me, blinking away tears that threatened to escape from my eyes. I missed her.

"Oh yeah hi, oh your welcome for Catherine." Mary replied sarcastically

"Thank you so much Mary, how have you been?" I asked her apologetically.

"Seriously, I've been worse, but as for Catherine not so much." She informed me.

"Why?" I asked concerned.

"Rose, she's had both of her parents taken from her, she may be small, but this little cutie understands way too much."

"Aww did you miss me." I spoke to Catherine only. She nuzzled her head into my chest giving off a slight smile as to our closeness.

"Hi mommy." She said in her squeaky, high pitched voice. Kissing her forehead I returned the greetings and looked back to Mary.

"So how is he?" She spoke only of Ben.

"From what I know of he's doing fine, they have him locked up in one of their cells." I told her.

"But what's going to happen, when they don't need him anymore?" She asked, but already answer to her question.

"I think…" But I couldn't finish my sentence. The look on Mary's face was hard enough. I knew for a fact when Dimitri and Ben become useless they will be…. Killed. Mary sighed to my unfinished statement unfortunately accepting the fact that was bound to come about to her husband. "We'll get them back Mary, I promise."

"But how?" She choked, obvious appearing as if she could cry.

" I don't know." I told her." But what I do know is that I need to get back before anyone gets suspicious of my disappearance ."

"Okay." Then she went to take Catherine away from me, but I pulled back.

"No." I protested against her.

"But…" She started to question

"She'll be fine with me." I replied cutting her off. She only nodded, giving me the location of where she was staying in the area. Nodding back to her for comprehension, I took the little girl in my arms and started to walk back to the one place on Earth. The one place where I wanted to run away from.

Trudging down on the narrow path, I jostled the child in my arms until she beckoned me to set her down and walk beside me. Having no complaints, because I did want to take my time, she kept up beside me wordlessly silent. However, I knew the silence had to be dreadful for her. I've been seperated from her for how long? Even though she was still considered a baby, Mary was right, she's overly smart and mature even for her own age.

Dragging my feet over to a distant bench I sat down on it's cold surface watching Catherine comply to what I was doing. Once settled, I began to tell myself to let Catherine know the truth.

"Mommy where's daddy?" Catherine asked before I was able to make words of my own. Aww, already fourteen months old and she can already speaks in proper sentences. I knew where she got it from and just as a hint it wasn't me.

"Daddy's inside the building were going to." I told her.

"Why?" She questioned. She really wanted to know. Oh god what do I tell her? 'Your fathers locked up for being a Strigoi and has been condemned to death.' Yah that's a great answer to tell a child. No instead I'll just go with the truth, but perhaps warp it a bit, just not to freak her out. I mean would you tell a child that their father's going to die.

"Well these people don't understand people like Daddy, so they think it's best to keep him locked up." I said to her in the best way possible for her to understand and not be conflicted with the situation in front of her.

"Can I see him?" She asked, somehow I think she knew what I meant by it all of it. I think deep down she knew of what was to become of her father.

"Yeah honey, I'll try to let you into to see daddy." A small smile played across her face, but it didn't remove the wariness in her eyes.

"Mommy?" She asked.

"Yes sweetie." I waited for her response.

"Why are you so sad?" Huh? How? Why? What? Why would she thing or know that I was sad. For what I knew, I was playing a pretty good poker face if you ask me.

"Why do you think that I'm sad?" I asked as she glanced down, as if conflicting with herself, deciding whether or not to tell me something. Then she shrugged.

"I don't know, you just seem sad to me." Huh I wonder if I should interpret that into anything. But just as it began to form in my mind, it also went away as my little girl started to stoke my stomach with a smile on her face.

"Mommy?" She asked.

"Yes." I answered getting comfortable on the bench as the girl sat content on my lap.

"Do you think I could ever be like you and daddy?" She inquired.

"Huh, what do you mean?" I waited for her to continue, curious as to the fact of what she had meant.

"Do you think I could ever fight evil Strigoi?" Wow, I wonder where she gets this kind of determination from. Couldn't be me, or could it?

"Well sweetie, it all depends on what you want to do when you grow up. I know you want to be a…. guardian like me but... I want you to listen, just because you are a Moroi doesn't mean you are labeled to being just royal or whatever Moroi do."

"Really?" She buzzed happily in her cute squeaky voice.

"Yup, you're my daughter and that means you can do whatever you want when you grow up." Hugging me she replied with a thank you. As I pulled her up into my arms and carried her toward the prison.

"Come on Catie lets go see daddy." I told the little angel nestled into my arms. Her smile grew wider as I opened the doors and headed inside, to pay a little visit to the man who I loved.