Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. You definitely had some strong feelings toward Emily. I don't blame you. I hope this chapter is equally entertaining.
Last time I checked, I'm not Richelle Mead and I don't own Vampire Academy.
Adrian POV
Yesterday was both absolutely wonderful and utterly miserable all in one. I kissed Rose. Finally, after over two years of flirting and professing my love, I kissed her, and she kissed me back. Just thinking about the way her lips felt against mine sends my heart racing. But then she had to go and do what she always does, and push me away again. One sentence that she said keeps repeating over and over in my mind. 'I can't be with you the way you want me to, right now.' It's the 'right now' part that is sticking in my mind. I have a feeling she's hiding something from me. Something important enough that she has to keep denying her love for me and keep me away. I have a feeling my aunt has something to do with this. I think it's time Aunt Tatianna and I had a little chat. But that will have to wait until tomorrow. Right now I see that Emily chick I'm supposed to show around. I can already tell by observing her just getting out of the car, this is going to be a miserable day.
She climbs out of the car and immediately hands her oversized bag over to one of the four guardians hovering around. They are all pulling out what look to be very heavy suitcases. One of the guardians is a petite woman who looks to be struggling trying to carry as much as the males. I rush over and take on of the bags from her. "Here, let me help you." I tell the guardian. "I can show you to your apartment." I say as I put the bag down next to me and extend my hand to Emily. "I'm Adrian Ivashkov. The Queen asked me to show you around today." I smile and turn to shake the man's hand that is with her. Emily smiles brightly when I mention my name, as did the man's.
"Lord Ivashkov, it's a pleasure to meet you. This is my father Lord Conta. He's just came to see that I arrived alright." she says. I pick up her bag and start to lead the way when she puts her hand on my arm to stop me. "You don't have to do that." motioning to the suitcase. "That's what the guardians are for." she says like it's so obvious. Oh god, don't tell me she's one of those royals. Ones that think guardians are their personal servants.
"Actually, their job is to protect you from danger, mainly from Strigoi." I try to say as politely as I can, but she still frowns at me. Oh, Rose is so going to hate her. We get to the apartment and I unlock the door and hand her the keys. She walks in and looks around, not looking too pleased. It's a standard apartment, just like mine, but apparently not good enough for her.
"I guess the good apartments were already taken. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to rough it for a while." she says, disappointment in her tone. The big guardian she handed her purse to comes in and she runs over, taking the bag from him and setting it down on the table. What she then pulls out surprises me. It's either a little ugly dog or a very big rat. You never know with wealthy people what they'll do to keep up with the latest trends. I should know, I used to be like that, a very long time ago. Of course if Rose ever found out, she'd give me hell and never let hear the end of it. She picks up the dog, I guess that's what it is, and starts kissing it and speaking baby talk to it. "Is my wittle Spartacus otay? Did he go tinkle like a good boy?" I roll my eyes wondering why a grown woman would act like this. She better not bring that mut with us today or it might not make it back. I have to get away from the baby talk, so I'll go socialize with her dad.
"So Lord Conta, how long do you plan on staying here at Court?" I don't really care but I don't have anything else to ask.
"Well, I was only planning on staying until tomorrow, but then I saw a pretty little Dhampir that caught my eye. So I figure I'll stay for a few days to get to know her better." he says with a wink. I have a bad feeling about this. I know Rose had a shift this morning, and it would just be my luck that it would be at the front gate. I better put a stop to this before Rose gets in trouble for beating this guy to a pulp when he hits on her.
"I don't suppose the Dhampir you're talking about is Guardian Hathaway?" He gets a big smile on his face when I mention her name.
"You know her? Maybe you can properly introduce us then?" he asks hopefully. Over my dead body will you ever get near her.
"Actually, she's my guardian, so I don't think that will be such a good idea." I say possesively. I don't care if he thinks she's my bloodwhore, as long as he stays away from her. It seems that that's exactly what he thinks from the look on his face.
"I see. My appologies for overstepping my bounds. I didn't realize she was already spoken for. You're a very lucky man." he looks at me for a moment as if thinking something over. A grin then spreads across his face as he looks over to Emily and then back to me. "I have a proposition for you. I will give you my support as well as the support of a few other royal families in your Offensive Magic program, if you date my daughter. Take her to all the social functions and public displays. Having an Ivashkov on her arm will do well to improve her status in our society." Well of course it will. "But it has to be believable to work." I'm about to tell him I'm not interested when he interupts me. "As a little added incentive, I'll keep your dirty little secret about your guardian. Scandals like this can ruin reputations and end careers. I'm sure you don't want that." The nerve of this guy. Does he really think he can threaten me? Considering that Rose and I have never had sex, he won't be able to prove anything.
"I don't take kindly to threats. I never said there was anything other than a professional relationship between Guardian Hathaway and myself. You can't prove something happened when nothing has." Hopefully he'll drop this whole thing and back off. Not the case. His face just lit up.
"So, she is available then. Wonderful."
"Rose is nothing if not professional. She'll never let you touch her. In fact, I can almost guarantee a couple broken bones if you try." I say with a smirk knowing Rose's temper.
"Assaulting a Royal Moroi is an offense worthy of jail time. That's an awful bad mark to have on her record. I don't think you want that do you? It's either she spends some quality time with me, or she goes to jail. Of course, this can all be avoided if you just help my daughter out." What. An. Asshole. I either date his daughter so she can climb the social ladder or Rose is assulted or lands in jail for beating the crap out of him. Well, I guess taking Emily on a few dates isn't going to hurt anyone and it sure beats hurting Rose in any way.
"Fine. Emily and I are now dating. But you need to hold up your end of the bargain and stay far away from Rose." I say as I glare at him. God, I hate this guy.
"Agreed. It better be believable for it to work or Rose will be mine. Even Emily can't know what we discussed." he threatens. He puts a smile on his face and walks over to his daughter and gives her a hug before he leaves, two of the four guardians following behind him. This is going to be a nightmare. Might as well get it over with. I walk over to Emily and smile.
"So, should we start the tour?" I ask as I present my arm for her to take. I lead her out the door, but not before she grabs her dog and put him in the bag and carries him with us. I first take her to the little shopping area we have here at Court. We have quite a bit, actually so we don't have to leave the safety of the wards too often. The restaurants are pretty dececnt as well as the clothing boutiques. This seems to really catch her interest like I thought it would.
"Hey, Adrian, I need to go to the mall to pick something up. I don't suppose you could take me, maybe tomorrow?" she asks. Rose's day off is tomorrow, but I'm busy all during the week. Maybe I can get another guardian to go in Rose's place.
"Sure, no problem. I'll make the arrangements." I tell her. Ugh, more shopping.
We spend a couple hours looking around and I have to practically drag her out to continue the tour. All she talks about is gossip and fashion. I'm not really listening though, I keep thinking about Rose and that kiss.
I decide that I need to see her so I take Emily on the next stop of the tour, the gym. We walk in and Emily scrunches up her nose as she looks around. She doesn't seem the type to get sweaty. I look around the room hoping to see Rose, and I do. She's fighting five big guardians at the same time. This is insane. I don't understand why all of a sudden she's training so much. There is definitely something going on. I can tell Emily is pretty uncomfortable among all the fighting guardians, so I lead her out and take her to the main building where the Queen's parlor is. I figured she'll get a big kick out of that. I was right. It's empty right now, but still impressive as she walks around awestruck. After going from room to room for the next hour, I look at my watch and realize that Tasha's dinner is starting soon. I want to talk to Rose, so I'm planning on making an appearance.
"Well, Emily, I hoped you enjoyed the afternoon. I have dinner plans with some friends, so I'll walk you back to your room." I tell her as I lead us back toward the living quarters.
"Oh, which friends are you meeting for dinner?" she asks making conversation, or so I think.
"Well, Tasha Ozera is hosting with Guardian Belikov and her nephew Christian and his girlfriend Vasilissa Dragomire will be there with one of their guardians Eddie Castile and my guardian will be there too." That's all I know to be there, but who knows. She seems very excited about something, and I'm afraid to ask what.
"Princess Dragomire is a friend of yours? I would love to meet her. I hear she could become the next Queen. Do you think they'd mind an extra for dinner?" Man, I never should've said anything. Me and my big mouth. I don't really want to spend any more time with her, but I don't need her dad finding an excuse to harass Rose, and I'm sure Tasha won't mind. She's nice to a fault.
"I'm sure Tasha would be delighted to meet you. She's head of the committee you're on." I tell her. She gets very excited and squeels. Can she be anymore annoying?
We walk up to Tasha's door and knock. Tasha opens the door and gives me a hug. She looks over to Emily with a confused look on her face. "Tasha, this is Emily Conta. She'll be on the committee with us starting on Monday. Is it alright if she joins us for dinner? She doesn't know anyone here yet." I ask. Of course Tasha welcomes her. As we're walking in, Emily grabs my hand and holds on tight. I say hello to everyone, but when I see Rose, I can't speak. She looks like she's in pain, and not just from the injuries on her beautiful face. I quickly drop Emily's hand and introduce her to everyone, leaving Rose for last. I don't want Emily to see how I feel about Rose the way everyone else seems to see it, so I decide to go the formal route introducing her. "Emily, this is my guardian, Rose Hathaway." I see hurt flash in Rose's eyes when I introduce her, but she puts her guardian mask on and looks at Emily. Then Emily has to do the dumbest thing ever. She shoves her stupid dog at Rose. I can see the storm a'coming.
"Spartacus needs to tinkle." she tells Rose, again treating guardians like personal servants. Rose looks at her like she has three heads when that sorry excuse for a dog pops out of the bag and starts growling and barking at Rose.
"Is this Spartacus?" Rose asks pointing to the dog. Emily rolls her eyes and pushes the bag at her again, only to have Rose push back. "I don't so tinkle detail. It's your dog, you walk it." I have to fight the laughter from erupting from me as I look at Rose's expression. I know I have to be convincing that there could be something between Emily and me, so no matter how hard it is to do this, I have to side with her.
"Rose, Emily is new here. Could you do us this favor and walk the dog please?" Rose gives me her death glare, which I return. Oh yeah, I'm going to pay big time for this. She grabs the dog's leash and pulls it toward the door.
"Come on pooch. Let's see if we can find a hole in the fence with your name on it." she says as she walks out the door. Emily goes right over to Lissa and wedges herself between her and Christian and starts talking excitedly about all the people they both might know and whatnot. I see Dimitri looking at me with a smirk on his face. I walk up to him to see what he's on about.
"Something amusing, Belikov?" I ask.
"Yes, actually. You seem to have a knack for pissing off Rose. Or at least your new girlfriend does." He's enjoying this way too much for my taste. I'm about to say something back when I hear the worst noise ever, Emily's laugh. It's so nasaly and annoying. I look over and everyone is staring at her in shock. Can this get any worse? Tasha comes out of the kitchen and asks Eddie to go get Rose. I just hope she didn't do something to the dog that can't be fixed. The rest of us take our seats, Emily and I across from Lissa and Christian with Tasha and Dimitri at the ends. After about ten minutes, Rose and Eddie return. Thankfully Rose has to sit next to me since Eddie quickly stole the other available chair. Emily decides to start the conversation. Oh please don't let her say anything stupid.
"So do you normally eat with your guardians? Wouldn't they be more comfortable eating with their own kind?" Oh god, shoot me now. Everyone is stunned at her question, but Lissa speaks up.
"Rose, Eddie and Dimitri aren't just our guardians, they're our family." You can tell Lissa is pissed and it takes a lot to get her worked up, but of course Emily has no problem. Emily just smiles at Lissa like you would an annoying child. But does she shut up? Nooo.
"Well I can see why Guardian Hathaway is your guardian Adrian, and by the looks of her face, it isn't for her fighting skills." she chuckles. Oh no she didn't. I can feel Rose try to get up, but when I look over, I see Dimitri holding her down to her seat and whispering something in her ear. I look at Rose who unleashes her scariest glare at Emily and me. So going to pay for this. Thankfully, Rose settles down and no blood is shed. Everyone starts to relax a bit until Emily opens her mouth again. I don't know how much more I can take.
"So Tasha, when do I get to meet your husband?" I guess I wasn't clear on Tasha and Dimitri's relationship. I have the urge to start banging my head against the table so I'll black out and get out of this mess. I can tell Tasha is getting upset, but being the good hostess, she's keeping herself under control.
"Well, Dimitri and I aren't married yet, but we are expecting the baby around Christmas time." As Emily looks between Tasha and Dimitri, she looks appalled at the thought that a Moroi and a Dhampir could be in a relationship.
"You mean you got pregnant by you guardian?" I glance over to Dimitri and see his jaw clenched in anger. "Well, I guess with the reputation of your family and the scar on your face, you had to lower your standards if you wanted a family. Too bad the baby will only be a Dhampir." This can't be happening. I know, I'm being punked, right? Someone going to come out and tell me this is all a joke and Emily is in on it. Anybody? This isn't really happening, right? Oh, but it is. Tasha and Chrisian look like they're about light Emily's hair on fire and I think Rose has finally lost it, because she's laughing like a hyena next to me. Okay, if I don't get this girl out of here, we're both toast. I lead her into the living room, away from sharp objects.
"Emily, are you insane? You just insulted everybody in that room? They're my friends. Some of them are like family to me." I'm getting pissed myself at her attitude toward guardians and Dhampirs. "I think we need to leave. Get Spartacus and I'll let them know we're leaving." I tell her as I go back to the dining room. "I appologize for Emily. I'm going to escort her to her apartment now." I look over to Rose to ask about the shopping trip tomorrow. "Rose I know tomorrow is your day off, but Emily needs to get something at the mall so I told her I would take her. Would you like to come or should I get Guardian Taylor to come in your place?"
"You know I'll go. What time?" she sighs. I hate doing this to her, but what can I do?
"Meet us at the car by six." I tell her then give Tasha and Lissa a kiss on the cheek. I'm afraid to get too close to Rose right now, so I just wave. I'm such a coward.
I walk Emily to her apartment, prepared to say goodnight at the door. "Get some sleep and I'll meet you tomorrow at six to go to the mall. I'll have the guardians escorting us meet at the car. Goodnight." I say as I start to walk away. I don't get far when she grabs my arm and spins me around to face her. Next thing I know, she's kissing me. I don't kiss back but push her away as gently but firmly as I can. I want to scream at her to never do that again, but I can't. So I don't say anything at all, but turn and walk away again. How did I get myself in this mess?
I go back to my place and flop down on the couch. This has been one of the worst days, ever. Rose is probably so pissed at me, she'll never speak to me again. I have to see her, if only to heal the cuts and bruises on her face. I think I'll shower and change into more comfortable clothes and then go see her.
I knock on her door and pray that she isn't already asleep. She opens the door a crack and peeks out. "What do you want now Adrian?" she asks rather annoyed.
"Can I come in? I need to talk to you. About Emily." She hesitates for a second, but then lets me in. It looks like she's ready for bed. Her hair is still damp from her shower and she's wearing pajama shorts and a tight tank top. God, she looks good. Focus Adrian. I can see more cuts and bruises on the rest of her body and I get nauseus thinking about all the training she's going through. "First of all, will you let me heal you? I hate seeing you in pain." Rose rolls her eyes at me and then spreads her arms out in surrender. I touch her legs, arms torso and face and see all the injuries vanish. "Did I get them all?" I ask. I see her pause for a second and then nod. I know she's lying. "Rose, I just want to help you." She lets out a big breath and then turns around and lifts up the leg of her shorts, exposing a bruise on her left butt cheek. I smile at her and then lightly touch the area and heal it. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" I ask with a smile.
"No, it wasn't. Thanks. Is that all you wanted to do?" she asks. I know she's tired and wants to go to bed, but I need to explain Emily to her. I don't want to keep such secrets from her if I ever hope to win her over.
"I need to tell you what's going on with Emily." She walks over to her couch and takes a seat, motioning me to do the same. "First off, I can't stand her and I'm so sorry she said what she did to you and everyone else." Rose laughs at my admission.
"Yeah, we all hate her too. And that dog." I laugh along with her. I just hope she stays in this good mood for the rest of the story.
"I hear ya. Unfortunately, I somehow got myself in a sticky situation. Lord Conta wants me to date her to help increase her status in our society. If I don't, he's going after you." She looks at me confused.
"Adrian, I can handle myself. Guardian, remember?" she chuckles.
"Rose, you don't know this guy. When he sees something he wants, he'll stop at nothing until he gets it. If you lose your temper with him and attack, he'll have you arrested, jeopardizing your career." I need to make her see how serious this is. She takes a minute to think this over.
"Okay, so I don't hurt him. I'll just tell him 'no' and walk away." she shrugs like it's going to be that easy.
"No Rose. Men like him don't take kindly to rejection, especially from Dhampir women. They think Dhampirs are below them. They'll stoop to any level to get what they want. I don't want anything like that happening to you, so I told him I would date her." I can see the pain in her face, but she's trying hard to keep it from showing. I reach over and hold her hand and caress it between mine. "I have to make it look believable, so you can't tell anyone that it's all pretend on my part." I plead with her.
"Then why did you tell me?" she whispers.
"Because the thought of you thinking that there was another woman more important than you, makes me ill. I know that you said you can't be with me right now, but that doesn't mean what we feel for each other is going away. I also know there is something you're keeping from me." A look of panic flashes across her face. "I would hope that you could trust me with whatever secret you have, but I won't push you. I just hope it's worth all the pain it's causing the both of us." She doesn't say anything, but a tear falls down her cheek. I reach up to wipe it away, placing my hand on her face. She closes her eyes and leans into my touch.
"Adrian, I don't ever want to hurt you, but I do have my reasons for keeping my distance from you. I just can't tell you what they are. Please understand." Looking at her now, I just want to wrap her in my arms and run far, far away from here. But I have a feeling, it won't change anything.
"Well, I guess it's for the best anyway since I'm supposed to be dating Emily." I say bitterly. She leans in closer and pulls me into an embrace. I put my arms around her and hold her tight.
"I know you don't owe me anything, but could you do me a favor?" she asks, like I would deny her anything. I nod and she continues. "I realize for appearrances that you may have to kiss her, which I understand. But, please don't sleep with her. I hate asking you this since I keep pushing you away, but I don't think I could handle that." I pull her away so I can look her right in the eyes.
"I promise. I would never do anything to ruin even the slightest chance that one day you and I will be together. There is hope, right? Even the slightest?" I ask, holding my breath. She looks into my eyes, tears threatening to fall, and nods. My heart just about jumps out of my chest. I pull her back into a firm embrace, not wanting to let her go. That miniscule chance she just gave me has made me the happiest man alive. She pulls away and and laughs softly.
"Just don't turn into one of those guys that gets totally wrapped up in their girlfriend at the expense of his friends. We need to at least keep movie night just for us." she says.
"Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way." I smile. I can see her trying to stiffle a yawn and I know how tired she must be, so I get off the couch and head to the door, no matter how much I want to stay here with her. "I'll see you in the morning. Are you sure you want to go?" I double check.
"Adrian, you know my rule. You go nowhere outside these gates without me or Strigoi will be the least of your worries." she says firmly. I nod my head and start to walk out the door, but turn around instead and put my hands on her waist and pull her to me. I linger just centimeters from her lips, waiting to see if she pulls away. She doesn't, so I gently press my lips to hers. I pull away after only a few moments and smile.
"Good night Little Dhampir." I say going back to friend mode. She rolls her eyes at her nickname and pushes me away.
"Good night Adrian. See you and your girlfriend in the morning." she waves before shutting the door. I feel like I'm walking on air knowing that there is hope after all for Rose and me. I just have to be patient.
So, what did you think of our favorite Moroi? Review and let me know.