Chapter nineteen
Taking deep breathes I lunged for my target. Damn, too slow. Time to kick it up a notch, and to kick some butt. Steadying my feet onto the ground I took another swing and made direct impact. Down ya go, but instead he only staggered back, moving onto another simulation. Taking a few steps back I whipped the dripping sweat away from my forehead and plunged again into the dawning air. Kicking my body into action I made my way taking aim once more on the query.
"Ugh." Shit missed again.
"Oh come on you can do better than that." He teased. I braced my teeth and had thrust my body into his direction. Heading into the trees we battled it out. Wits against brawn. May the best one win. Slamming down into his chest he sailed down through the trees as I waited for a clear comeback.
Birds flew everywhere, in every direction, throwing off my overall sight. Trying to advocate an advantage point I climbed to the near tops of the branched trees, overlooking all that fell below me. Wait what was that? Grr. He really wanted to tick me off today didn't he. Moving closer to his last appearance I kept all layers of movement in mind. Scanning the rustling leaves for anything that stood out.
Suddenly something moved, but before I could react to it, I was tacked down from where I knelt. Ugh, that was going to hurt in the morning. Flipping back onto my feet I dragged myself to a safe zone, foreseeing to what his next motives were to be. Right now he had the higher advantage over me, but I wasn't going to let this little drawback get me down. Instead, I was going to ride high. Ahh, there he was. Sucking in another breath I went for him, but he already saw me coming. In the next instant I was falling from below the tree tops towards the hard ground that waited to greet my impact.
In the next second a hard body crashed into me, safely descending us upon the forest floor. When we both reached ground zero our lips mashed together and neither of us resisted the other. I suppose practice was over for today, fine by me. Course, it's not like I wanted the other events of the day to occur, yet. Hell, I wouldn't care if they ever happened, as long as the end results were still the same, I didn't care. Great, I mentally groaned. I have that stupid guardian ceremony today. Yup, today was the day when I Rosemarie Hathaway Belikov would become an official guardian for Queen Vasilisa Dragomir.
"You know were already going to be late." Dimitri said to me once our lips unlocked from the other. Ahh he knew me so well, more then I even knew myself. I've missed him so much. He was only here because this was his week off for his opposite guardian's turn. Otherwise he'd be back in Austria, guarding the Ivashkov family. At this point however, another guardian was filling in for Dimitri, that is until he was to return by the end of the week. A sole week for the two of us to be together, to be a family. Of course, with the important trial date coming up. Oh, no one was on trial, quite diverse. It was the important date, or at least for me, when Dimitri's kind would be forever unprosecuted by us Dhampirs alike. "Come on we need to go." Dimitri provoked me. Hah it would take much more to even want to go near that plane, but I knew he was right. So taking his hand I allowed him to glide me out of the shrubbery that we threw ourselves into. As we walked to where the plane was destined to take off, I too was soon confronted with my own issues with a very pissed off mother.
"Hi mom." I sheepishly greeted her. She only glared back, not having any words to respond to me, or at least that's what I thought.
"Rose, your fifteen minutes late, I'd expected that becoming a parent would have softened your maturity, but already I can see that I was wrong."Okay I don't think my mom's ever freaked me out before. Pissed me off, defiantly. Made me ashamed of being her daughter, absolutely. Cowering in fear of her intimation, no this was a first. But I didn't let her really get to me, no instead I stayed surprisingly casual and spoke to like she'd said nothing at all. Course, this only agitated her more, but I was trying to feign ignorance on the matter.
"Where are the kids?" I subsequently asked her. She glared down at me from where I stood, but grudgingly answered the location of where her grandchildren were at.
"There on the plane, along with a very impatient queen. " Oh, so Lissa was going today too. She told me she wasn't sure if she'd make it or not. I guess she could. Well from that information, this had just made my tragic day a little bit better. Nodding to my mother I boarded the plane and instantly found my two children, practically bouncing off the walls for their first plane ride. Well at least Catherine was. Jasha was more as sitting, looking playful to the fact of his big sister skipping around in the small area.
Smiling at her as I entered the small alcove, quickly taking a seat in one of the first class sofas while quietly telling my daughter to settle down for the rest of the trip. Complying with my demand she sat in the seat opposite of me. As Dimitri placed himself directly next to me with Jasha on his lap. Aww, he's gotten so big. Already at two months old with longer curly hair and a chubby face that he just hasn't really grown into yet. I meant the baby, not Dimitri, that would be… weird.
In following through with us were my mother and best friend forever, or I guess you could say that at least. Grumbling about our time schedule my mother unhesitantly sat next to Catherine, while Lissa placed herself on the other side of the unoccupied seat next to me.
"You know you could of called or something if you knew you were planning on being late." Lissa pressed as she stared out the window to our right.
"Gee if I knew that I probably would have never showed up." I muttered focusing on the roughness of my skin and the scratches I had just recently received.
"Rose." My mother scolded. Okay, really, did she really have to do that in from of my two year old? I mean seriously, Catherine has just only just entered into the terrible two's. Does my mom want to give her any sort of wrong idea or something to my parenting skills? Course, knowing m mom that'd be a yes.
"Aww come on Rose, it won't be that bad, you'll see. By midnight tonight it'll all be over and then it's just easy work from there." Lissa comforted me with simple talk. Seriously, I didn't know why I was protesting so much, but just the fact of returning to the one place on Earth in which I truly hated. Now that was why I loathed this trip so much. In just about eight hours we'd land in the barren wasteland of Montana where my old school still stood.
Yup St. Vladimir's academy in Northern Montana. Ugh, this was going to suck. I hated that place and I don't even think hate is a strong enough implication for how much I truly despised that school. That place was like a living hell for me. The only one good thing that could have possibly happened there, okay maybe two. The first, meeting and falling in love with Dimitri, the second was having a friend like Lissa to support me through those awful years. Hah, more like a year and a half, but still two years nonetheless.
Settling down deeper into my seat I decided to take advantage of the time I had to keep up on some Z's, which I probably had lost, especially with everything that's occurred in the past three months or so. So letting my mind wander off into all directions, a void of unconsciousness freely welcomed me into another dream of sleep.
"Mommy." Huh, what?
"Mommy over here." A small voice called out to me. Catherine? What did she need? Was she hurt?
"Catie." I called in hope for a response.
"Mommy I'm special." She told me, reminding me of the same quote I constantly fed her.
"Catie where are you?" I asked exasperated. But all I saw was a swirling darkness from all corners of my mind.
"Mommy don't wake up, wait." She called after me.
"Catie."
But my eyes fluttered open to the final landing of the plane. Staring over at Catherine I saw her staring back at me with confusion masking her face. Okay, I know I had been definitely dreaming, but what was that? Why couldn't I see her? What was going on with Catie? This was definitely not normal. And I would definitely get to the bottom of this. No matter what.
Stepping off the plane I was greeted by the natural cold weather that usually reigned in this region of the United States. Taking Catherine with me, our little group moved into one of the already awaiting vehicles that would soon transport us back to the school. Playing with a piece of my hair I observantly watched Catherine with curious eyes. It took about what seemed to be fifteen minutes before we pulled into the school's main gates and into the sole parking the academy actually possessed.
"You guys go ahead; I'm just going to take Catherine for a bathroom break." I told the others, as we got out of the vehicle. Receiving several shrugs and a helping hand from Dimitri, I smiled at him and then waved it off. I didn't want him to be there for what I had in store for Catherine.
Carrying her off to the stalled bathroom I sat her down onto the bare counter as I pulled up a chair to where she was set. I figured meeting at her at her own eyelevel would make this interrogation thingy a little bit more easier for her.
"Catherine do you have something to tell mommy?" I asked her in a kind, mothering tone. She stared back at me blankly, not really following of what I was trying to ask of her. I sighed."Catherine on the plane… what was that?" She threw a small smile on her face, then from what I hoped to explain my theory.
"You woke up." I shook my head at the confusion of her words.
"Catie, what?" Urge. I didn't have time for this.
"I told you to wait. Mommy I'm special." I groaned, I was getting nowhere with this. How do I ask a two year old if she's already developing a… magical element?
"Yes Catie, I know your special but…" I told her, suddenly becoming weary with all of my questioning.
"No." She whined, cutting me off. "Mommy don't get mad." Huh. Could she possibly?
"Catie do you see auras?" No, she wouldn't understand what an aura was."Do you see colors around people Catie, is that how you know when mommy and daddy are lying?" This time I was answered with a slight nod.
"I'm special." She repeated again, but with more emphasis. Yup, you sure are something alright.
"Now Catie on the plane, you were sleeping when you tried to talk to me right?" Once again she nodded to my response.
"Why did you wake?" I didn't answer her. Instead I sat there in shock, shock that not only my child had developed a magical element, including spirit. But her abilities were already intensifying at a power that not even Lissa has gained yet. And she's two. This cannot be good. Okay, do not panic, if I panic Catherine will see it and then… Oh god. Why did my daughter have to be a spirit user? I mean it's not like it's a bad thing or anything. Okay it was. If Catherine was already developing this early, then when were the aftereffects going to catch up with her. I've seen it happen before.
Long ago when Lissa and I were young, Lissa had ways of letting her pain out, ways that did serious damage to her. I didn't tell anybody then, but I knew the way she tolerated her pain was wrong. She needed help and she did get help. That was the first time I've never been able to subsequently support her. I've done everything for her, but relieving the pain, or at least then it was not possible, or in my will power to do so at least. However, things have change as well as Lissa's bond she shares with me. Despite my shadow kissed fate, I now intercede all of Lissa's corrupting feelings and emotions that once penetrated her mind. In the end I ended up being the her cure for her. But who would cure Catherine of her power issues.
"Mommy." Catherine called snapping me out of my most recent thought.
"We need to go now." I told Catherine, picking her up and leading her to where the ceremony was taking place. "Catie I want you to do me a big favor okay."
"Kay mommy." I smiled down at her as she snuggled into my arms.
"I want you to keep your special powers a secret, or at least for now, alright?"
"But why mommy?" She asked curiously.
"Nothing." I said while shaking my head."It's just that, right now this isn't really the greatest place to tell people of your… unique abilities."
"Okay mommy." She said with a sigh. "But does this mean I have to stop using them?" What did she mean, was there a way to turn them on and off without stifling them with drugs or alcohol.
"Uhh… what do you mean Catie?" I asked her truthfully.
"This." She said as she demonstrated on a cut that hadn't really healed fully yet on my arm. Touching the wound she managed to make the small scrap disappear underneath the shadow of her hand. Shit. Oh no. Oh no. Crap, she could heal. Since when could she do that?
"Uhh… Catie I think you should defiantly keep that a secret, or at least for now." She understood my words and answered me with a slight nod of the head. "Okay." I told her as we stepped into the main building of the school.
Sweeping into the familiar building I was quickly washed over to the fact of the building's design code to be just like the ones in Eastern Europe. Gee it feels like I never left home for that matter. Reacquainting with our original group, I had set Catherine onto her feet as I was dragged over for my finishing mark, my promise mark. Leaning over I let the stylish get to work, feeling the uncomfortable sensation as the needed pricked my skin thoroughly.
Well I had done it, being added to my other marks that caressed my neck, the mark of a true guardian was now being placed onto the surface of my neck. Probably the worst part that sucked of this whole experience was the fact of two months with exams that I had to endure for my final graduation. The graduation of becoming a guardian.
Once the artist was done applying the tattoo he gave me the regular follow-up on the how to take care my mark as he then left me to myself. Feeling the need to scratch at its smooth surface I made my way back to my family and friends. Lissa smiled as she hugged me for my recent accomplishment, holding back something important in our bond.
"Spill it Liss, what is it?" I told her after enduring a few long minutes of her eagerness to a secret she wanted to keep hidden. She broke away from me and smiled mischievously back from where I stood. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out the familiar bracelet that she had once given me but in the end I had only refused it. The Chotki. I gasped at the beaded rosary. Okay so I wasn't religious, but the fact remains it was a beautiful piece of jewelry that had been in Lissa's family for a couple generations.
As she handed me the trinket I fastened it onto my wrist as Lissa whispered into my ear.
"You know only true Dragomir guardians are allowed to where it." Smiling back at her I met her into another hug and then felt utter excitement for the starting of my future tomorrow. Tomorrow, that was the day when I'd become an official guardian for Lissa, forever. Today I swore into becoming a legit protector of the Moroi people. Tomorrow was the day when the job actually began and my true future commenced.
Looking around I walked out of the building and into the central June air. Observing my surroundings I made toward one of the school benches and plopped down onto its wooden frame. But however, in the distance a shadow followed of where I came from, but I didn't tense up to his upcoming form. Instead I made room enough for him on the sturdy seat. Settling down next to me he wrapped his arms around me and stared at my face. Surprisingly he was childless.
"Hi." I said acknowledging his presence. He smiled and kissed the top of my head. Allowing his hands to run through its darken colors.
"Nervous?" He asked me.
"No." I said shaking my head."I had a pretty good teacher."
"Really?" He teased."Anyone who'd I know." Giggling, I gave him another kiss and held it out longer until my lungs ran out of its precious oxygen. Breaking and gasping for air I cuddled into his side as he continued to smooth out my hair. "You look very beautiful tonight." He complemented. Funny he doesn't normally comment on my appearance. Course, it's nice to here anyway.
"We should get back inside." I gestured and for the first time I was actually being the responsible one, despite the seven years he still had on me. He smiled, but protested against my grip when I tried to drag him onto his feet.
"Let's stay out here for just a little bit longer." He offered. Using the hold I had on his to his own advantage and swung me onto his lap.
"Hmm I don't know. That's a pretty difficult decision right there." But he silenced with yet another kiss.
"We don't have to go." He pleaded.
"That sounds nice." I told him as I laid my head against his chest. He smiled weakly at me then held me tightly into him. Enjoying the time between the two of us. The limited time we were allowed to have.
"Don't worry Roza." Dimitri told me."Life will work out between us, everything will be fine, you'll see." I hoped it would, but I didn't respond to him. Instead I bit my lip as I instantly felt it would be safer to keep Catherine's powers a secret, or at least for now. Right now, I was going to appreciate the time I had and the time I looked forward with Dimitri in the both near and distant future to come.