▼ - Childhood headcanon
Rose never told anyone about the daydreams she had when she was a child, because she knew no one would understand. While her classmates indulged in childish fantasies about ponies and dinosaurs, what she thought about was something much more realistic. She dreamed about having a real home and a family—and she dreamed about meeting her father.
She had never really thought much about having a dad—not until she saw the way that Eric Dragomir doted on Lissa. Seeing the way her best friend's father treated his daughter with such love and adoration, she started to wonder where her own dad was and why he'd never taken an interest in her life. She spent hours imagining what he might be like—at that point she knew absolutely nothing about the man, and since she hadn't seen her mother in years she had no way of learning the things she wanted to know. So it was only natural that the father she imagined took on certain aspects of the one man who always made a point to single her out and shower her with extra attention—the man Lissa consider an Uncle, Victor Dashkov.
He was the person who's smile always brightened when she entered a room—the one who's soft, cultured voice was always filled with fondness when he spoke to her. He always made time to quiz her on her studies and to praise her accomplishments, and he gave her small, meaningful gifts whenever the opportunity presented itself. In fact, Victor treated her the same way Eric treated Lissa, which made her wonder if he might be her real father. After all, it would explain why he—a Royal Moroi, rumored to be in line for the throne—went out of his way to be nice to a dhampir child. She began to search for similarities between them, like the fact they both had thick, dark hair or the way they both loved donuts, and each new resemblance she noticed filled her with happiness. Wishing with all her heart it were true, she even made a point to be nicer to the man's daughter on the chance they might be sisters. When he was diagnosed with Sandovsky's Syndrome, she locked herself in her dorm room and cried for hours, devastated that the kind, caring man she believed to be her father was inflicted with such a horrifying disease.
As she grew older and the rumors of her real father—an unnamed Turkish Moroi—reached her ears, she reluctantly put away her childish fantasies. Accepting the fact Victor wasn't her father hurt—every time she looked into his jade green eyes or heard the fondness in his voice when he said her name, she couldn't help but feel a pang of longing for her lost dreams. At the time, she had no way of knowing that in the future, he would use her as a pawn in an attempt to get to Lissa—she only knew that her hopes of a happy family had crumbled away, just when they finally seemed within her reach.