Chapter 13

I'm sorry it takes me so long to update, my three kids keep me busy. My time is very limited.

I will try extremely hard to update sooner. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews you guys are the best.

Thanks,

Marla :D

DPOV

I didn't bother checking to see who was calling I assumed it was Headmaster Svetkova returning my call. "Belikov" I said answering my phone. There was nothing but silence. "Belikov" I repeated. Still there was no reply. In that very instant I knew it was her, I could feel it in my heart. " Please talk to me Roza, I know it's you. I need to hear your voice. I could hear a faint muffling sound, than I heard someone whisper I'm sorry just before the phone went dead.

Why wouldn't she talk to me? Does she really not want to be with me, I thought. I was gripping my phone so tight; I was ready to throw it against the wall in frustration when I realized I could call the number back. I checked my incoming calls and hit redial. After a few rings there was an answer. "Guardian Kane."

Disappointment ran through me when it wasn't Rose's voice that I heard answering the phone. I was at a loss for words, not quite sure what to say. I was certain that it had been her who was on the other line. I could feel it in my heart. Damn it! I scolded myself. Am I so desperate to find her that I'm starting to lose my mind? I was so deep in thought I forgot I was on the phone. He snapped me out of my haze when he asked. "Guardian Belikov is this you?"

"Yes this is Guardian Belikov. Did you just call me?" I questioned him, not exactly sure why he would be contacting me. "Yes, I called you a few minutes ago, I'm sorry the connection was bad and I lost the call." He replied.

I couldn't shake this feeling I was getting. Something was telling me that he was lying, that Rose was the one who called me.

"My name is Guardian Kane, I'm the head guardian here at St. Augustine's Academy. I was just informed by Headmaster Svetkova that your sister Viktoria is being transferred here. Headmaster asked me to return your call; he also said to give you his apologies that he was unable to return the call himself. I haven't had much time to go through her file, although I was told that she is being transferred for assaulting a moroi. From what I have read this is not the first time her behavior has gotten her into trouble."

"I wish that I could say that your information was wrong Guardian Kane. My sister is a good novice, she has great potential, but her self-control lacks considerably. However, I do think that with the right person mentoring her, Viktoria is capable of becoming a reputable guardian." I proclaimed.

Even though I didn't know Guardian Kane he was still considered to be my superior. I wanted to ask him who would be training Viktoria, but I didn't want to come across as sounding pretentious. "Guardian Kane please know that I am not in any way questioning your authority. It's just I would like to know if you will be mentoring Viktoria yourself or assigning another guardian the task. She is very opinionated, even with authority figures. I'm convinced she will be a handful."

He laughed at the commentary I gave him of my sister. I don't think he is aware of how much his control is about to be tested with Viktoria. "Guardian Belikov" He started to say when I stopped him. "You can call me Dimitri." I told him.

"You can call me Gregori." He answered. "Dimitri, I have the perfect person in mind to mentor Viktoria. She is only a novice but definitely capable of mentoring her. She is better than most of our guardians. With that said I would be supervising her, as well as training Viktoria occasionally.

"Do you mind me asking who it is that will be mentoring her?" I spoke respectfully. There was a long pause. He seemed hesitant to tell me her name. I was ready to ask him if there was a problem when he spoke.

"Her name is Marie, she's my sister. I can promise you she will not be a disappointment." He declared. "She is like Viktoria in a lot of ways. She always acted first than asked questions later, but she has worked hard to gain some control. I can't think of a more qualified person than Marie to help her, they can relate to each other. It will take Viktoria a few days to adjust, but I'm confident she will show much improvement after training with her."

"My sister is a lot like my Ro"…. I caught myself before I finished saying her name. "She reminds me of my last student, her name was Rosemarie Hathaway."

"I've heard stories about her. She is the one who escaped the academy with Princess Vasilisa Dragomir a couple of years ago. I've been told she has a reckless behavior." He spoke clearly.

"You shouldn't believe everything you hear. Don't get me wrong, when I first brought Princess Dragomir and Rose back from Portland she was a force to be reckoned with. She had a careless disregard for the consequences to her actions, but soon after we started training something changed in her. Her drive to be the best guardian for the princess became visible and her dedication astonished me."

"Are you glad that you no longer have to mentor her?" He remarked. " Quite the opposite actually, I would love to still be her mentor. She is a remarkable person; I would give anything to have her back here at St. Vladimir's. There was never a dull moment when she was around." I confessed. My heart ached at the thought of Rose not being here.

" Well Dimitri, I'm certain that we can teach Viktoria the discipline that she so desperately needs. Just like you did with Miss Hathaway. I plan on giving her extra training sessions along with her normal ones. I would like you to come visit the academy and meet Marie; maybe this will ease any concern you have about a novice mentoring your sister. I'm sure you will be more than pleased with what you will find here at St. Augustine's."

"I have no doubt that you will do what is necessary to keep Viktoria in line. I have a situation here I'm dealing with at the moment but as soon as I get it resolved I will visit, but don't hesitate to call me if there are any questions or concerns about Viktoria."

"I'll call you occasionally to inform you of her progress, just like I'm sure I will be hearing from you. OH, and Dimitri I don't know what it is you're dealing with but sometimes taking a break and pulling yourself out of the situation helps you find the answers you're looking for. Maybe coming here to visit would be helpful."

"Thank you Gregori, I appreciate your advice. I have to go for now but I will talk to you soon." I said goodbye and hung up the phone. I glanced around; I had managed to dismantle my entire room from the tantrum that I threw earlier.

As I was cleaning up my room, trying to put the furniture back where it goes I thought about what Gregori had said to me. Everything around here reminds me of Rose, There isn't one place I can go at this academy that doesn't bring up a memory of her. I think maybe he is right. I need to get away from here.

After I finished restoring my room to its previous state, I headed off to Alberta's office. I was going to ask her for a few days off. I decided I would take Gregori's advice and go visit Viktoria.

RPOV

Just hearing Dimitri's voice sent a shock through my body. I couldn't talk, even though I tried. "Belikov" he repeated. I still couldn't get anything to come out of my mouth. I was struggling to breath. Gregori had this concerned look on his face as he watched me.

"Please talk to me Roza, I know it's you. I need to hear your voice." I could hear how much he was hurting. Why would I call him and put him through more pain? How could I do this to him? How could I be so selfish? As I thought this to myself I finally muttered the only words that my voice would allow. "I'm sorry!" I whispered as I closed the phone, ending the call.

My hands were shaking when I gave the phone back to Gregori. "Rose why didn't you talk to him?" he asked me. I had tears streaming down my face. Before I could answer him his phone began to ring. We looked at the caller ID. " It's Dimitri! You can't tell him I'm here Gregori! I need to let him move on!" I shouted. "Calm down Rose I'll take care of it, I won't tell him you're here." He responded.

I stood up to walk away when he answered the phone. It would only hurt more if I sat here and listen to their conversation. Gregori reached for my wrist to stop me. I turned to him, mouthing the words..I can't. He released my wrist nodding his head letting me know he understood.

I wandered aimlessly around the academy; eventually I found a bench amongst some trees and sat down. I could hear people whispering behind me. "Just go ask her." The girl said. "Are you kidding me, if that is her I don't feel like getting my ass handed to me. You heard what she did to Guardian Kane." The boy said.

I was becoming annoyed with their whispers. "If you want to ask me a question than do it already. Your whispering is getting on my damn nerves." I could hear them debating back and forth. They were scared to approach me.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity of listening to them bickering, they walked around to the front of the bench to face me. I could tell they were both novices; there skin wasn't pale like a moroi. The girl stood about 5'7" with reddish blonde hair, she was muscular but her body wasn't as defined as mine. The boy on the other hand stood about 6'3" with dark blonde hair, he was built but he was no Russian god.

"My name is Julian Bochinsky and this is Camelia Blerinca we are both training to be guardians here at St. Augustine's," He stammered. They both looked so terrified, all I would have to do is jump off the bench and I was pretty confident they would both piss there pants. "Are you guys alright, you look like you just ran into a army of strigoi?" I teased.

"Well we were wondering if your name is Rosemarie Hathaway?" Camelia questioned. "Yes, last time I checked that was still my name. I would prefer that you call me Rose." I revealed. " I told you it was her." She said punching Julian in the arm. He smirked at her to let her know she didn't hurt him. "Why did you come to St. Augustine's?" He inquired.

I didn't have a chance to reply before Gregori interrupted us. "Why are you two not in the gym? If you two are late for class again you will be having a meeting with Headmaster Svetkova." His voice was stern.

"We were on our way there right now Guardian Kane." Camelia said as she grabbed Julian's arm pulling him towards the gym. "Maybe we can talk to you later Rose." Julian shouted. I wasn't in the mood for twenty questions so I didn't bother answering him.

Even though I wasn't looking at him, I could sense Gregori staring at me. "Rose we need to talk about a few things." He said sitting down beside me.

"Would you mind telling me what happen back there? Why didn't you talk to him?"

"I'm sorry I pulled you into this Gregori. I wasn't thinking, I should have never called Dimitri." I spoke in almost a whisper.

"You didn't pull me into anything. I had to call him anyways." I looked at him with a confused look.

"Why would you have to call him?"

"That is why the Headmaster wanted to talk to me. Apparently his sister Viktoria has got her self into some trouble and they are transferring her here. The Headmaster and I think you would be the perfect person to mentor her."

" Are you crazy, she knows who I am, she will tell Dimitri that I'm here! Besides I don't think I'm the right person to mentor anyone. Do I need to remind you of my lack of self-control? " I shouted.

"Relax Rose, I think you can convince her to give you and Dimitri some time to work things out. And as far as you not being the right person to mentor her, I think your wrong. Viktoria is a lot like you were when Dimitri brought you back from Portland. You can teach her so much. I have a great deal of confidence in your abilities."

" Does Dimitri know that a novice will be mentoring his sister?" I asked.

"Yes, I told him the novice was my sister Marie. He seemed to be fine with it."

"Is that what you are calling me now. I have to admit it is better than Rosie." I smiled.

"I didn't think you would want me telling him your real name, but Rose you need to understand that I will not lie for you again. He is going to find out where you are eventually. You can't hide from him forever."

Deep in my heart I knew Gregori was right; I couldn't hide forever.

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