With Adrian gone, and guardian duties down to a minimum for the holidays, Rose found herself with entirely too much time to herself. To compensate, she threw herself into training. Adrian not being there was like a piece of her missing - it had been so long since the last time they were separated. She thought this over as she left one morning, heading towards the conference room. There was an early meeting - some Intel had finally come in on Lara's group, and she couldn't wait to hear it. Walking in, she spotted Eddie seated next to his brother, and she walked over, taking a seat next to them. Eddie offered her half his bagel, and said, "Finally, eh?" She nodded, polishing the bagel off in record time, "I know. Training with Gorbachov just doesn't feel like enough."
"Think we'll go on the offensive for once?" He mused, shredding the napkin as he mulled it over. She shrugged, but before she could comment, Alex was standing up to start the meeting.
"Alright. We've received some new information from a source spying on the faction's movement." He walked to the podium, and checked his notes quickly.
"We have numbers, people. Excluding Lara, there are 9 other established Strigoi with her - all old, from what we can tell. Experienced. Adding to that, are 4 newly-turned Strigoi. Two of them were Moroi from a community in Florida, but two were Dhampirs. You may know them - Jeremy Jenzen, previously based in the St. Vladmirs in Texas, and Ambrose Sellers, formerly of this court." Rose gasped, sitting back in her chair.
Ambrose had been a friend, someone she knew when the previous queen reigned. After Tatiana's death, he had left Court, claiming it was too hard to be there with the memories. For awhile, they exchanged emails, but she hadn't heard from him in over a month. Now she knew why. Poor, poor Ambrose.
"Where are they based?" Guardian Malone asked, from across the table. Alex shook his head, "Every time we think they've made a permanent base, they move on. Always circulating Court. Current location, Northeast 45 miles, holed up in some cabin in the woods."
"Why don't we just take them out?" A gaurdian Rose didn't know asked suddenly, slamming his fist on the table, "We shouldn't be running scared. It gives them more power."
"We cannot attack," Dimitri replied from the back wall, startling Rose. She didn't see him get there. "Other then the threats, we would have no reason to justify it. The Royal Moroi would never approve." There was a heavy debate after this, and Rose leaned back, tuning it out. She was all for going on the offensive, but if the group kept moving around, that would mean they know they are being watched. Which would mean..
"HEY!" Rose exclaimed suddenly, breaking off the debate, "We can't attack. Dimi- uh, Guardian Belikov is right. They keep moving, which means they know we're following. If they wanted to get away, they would. I don't think Lara is stupid. So, what else could they be doing, other then trying to draw us out into a fight?" There was some low mumbles as people digested this, and Alex nodded, "That makes sense. An ambush, almost." Rose nodded, leaning forwards in her chair again, "They keep trying to trick our sources into thinking they have based for good. I'd bet they have more Strigoi waiting somewhere for us to come out."
"Suspend all gate activity, in and out. Also, put a watch on the airfield - I want to know who's coming and going," Alex told a messenger, who left the room immediately. He turned back to the guardians, and continued, "Alright. Keep up with the training. I'll call another meeting if we get any new information." As the group slowly dispersed, Eddie fell into step with Rose. She gave him a half smile, and Eddie said, "I never would have thought of that. Good job." Rose shrugged off the praise, and said, "Its what I would do if I was them." He nodded, and grinned, clapping her on the back as he jogged ahead to go to work, "Good thing your not, eh?"
After grabbing a quick breakfast, Rose decided to head back to the gym for another workout. As she walked down to the training center, she pulled out her cell phone, hitting the speed dial for Adrian's number. Holding the phone to her ear, she stopped outside the door, waiting, listening to the rings. She counted three, four, five.. Sighing, she clicked the off button, resisting the urge to throw her phone into a wall. He hadn't answered the last three times she'd called, why would he suddenly decide to? She walked into the center to avoid falling into the all too familiar desolation, and spotted Dimitri going a round with a punching bag. He must have gone straight there after the meeting, she mused, walking in his direction. He did promise to help her train, right? She stopped by his mat, watching as he finished warming up, sweat starting to bead on his forehead. He finally noticed her, and said, "Did you want to train together today?" She nodded, putting her stuff next to his, "Sure do, comrade." This definitely beat training with her thoughts as company.
"Do these stretches," Dimitri said, easily falling into the roll of mentor. Rose copied his stretches easily, remembering the routine from St. Vladmirs.
"How are you doing?" Dimitri asked as he stretched his arm behind his head. Scowling, she leaned into the stretch further, curtly replying, "Fine." He raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't pursue the conversation. As soon as stretching was done, Rose let Dimitri tie a blindfold tightly over her eyes. Standing very still, she felt the air swish gently as he moved around her, letting her get used to the handicap.
"I'm going to move slowly at first, to give you a chance to adjust," his soft voice explained from behind her, to the left a little, "Feel the space around you - you'll begin to notice a shift in the air, when I move." She nodded, bending her knees slightly, body ready. She heard a quick intake of breath to her right, and spun fast, raising her leg in a roundhouse and blocking Dimitri's body. Going off little sounds and movements, she countered his slow attacks fairly easily.
"Good," Dimitri said after awhile, still circling her, "Are you confident with me moving faster?"
"Bring it on," she said, in a cocky voice. She liked to imagine there was that faint smile on his lips, knowing her attitude would bring him back to years before. After a moment, the attacks began to come, much faster than before. Defending herself was getting tougher. He caught her shoulder with his elbow, knocking her back a step. To compensate, she spun and raised a knee, but in the second it took her to spin, he had body checked her, taking her down. She struggled for a moment, before realizing it was futile. He had her pinned.
"Good job," he said breathlessly, from above her. She shimmied the blindfold off, and said, "Can we go again?" He looked at her for a minute, before nodding, "Again."
They trained for another hour or so using the blindfold, and Rose kept getting sloppier. The more tired she was, the less easy it was to hear his slight movements over her heavy breathing. Also, she wasn't used to being on the defensive for so long - on the most part, the guardian's she sparred with were the ones defending themselves. It was like a hit to the ego.
"Your slipping," Dimitri's calm voice said, "You sure you want to keep going?" She grit her teeth, and nodded, "Yeah."
"Your getting frustrated. We'll continue tomorrow." She felt the air move as he turned his back, going towards their stuff, and she launched herself at him. Twisting her body left as she hit his back, she took him down, rolling to gain the upper hand on top. He growled, getting her chin with an elbow as he struggled to get up, but she knelt on his arm, and managed to get the other under control. Finally, he stopped moving. She whipped the blindfold off triumphantly, and saw him laughing quietly underneath her. He reached up, tucking her hair behind her ear, "I should have expected that. Although, there was no battle cry to warn me." Laughing with him, she stood, helping him up, "When can we train again?"
"Your improving, Rose. But you can't push yourself too hard. A few days, perhaps." She sighed, but nodded, accepting it.
"Thanks, comrade." She grabbed her towel, and headed for the change room.
As Rose left the training center, she came across Lissa and Christian, heading towards a meeting with the OMC. Lissa smiled, "Hey, Rose. Were you training?" She nodded, and Christian said, "Still going with Alex to the International Guardian Ball tonight?" Rose swore under her breath, rubbing her forehead, "It's already the 31st?"
"Yeah. You've been pretty busy," Lissa said slowly, "I'm not surprised you didn't realize." Rose nodded, "Yeah, I promised Alex I would. Have you guys... have you heard from him?" Lissa and Christian exchanged a look, and Lissa finally shook her head, "We haven't. I'm sorry." Rose shrugged, keeping all emotion from reaching her face. Christian gave Lissa a kiss on the cheek, and said, "I'll be a little late today, okay babe? Go on ahead." Lissa gave him a curious look, but hurried down the hall after a quick goodbye. Rose put her hands in her jeans pockets, "Well fire-boy, let's hear it." They fell into step together, heading towards Rose's rooms, and Christian said, "Are you okay, Rose?"
"I'm fine," she replied instantly, and he raised an eyebrow at her, "You have huge bags under your eyes, you've barely been over to see Lissa, and every time we run into you, your coming from the gym." Rose laughed, "I guess your more perceptive then I figured." He stopped, putting his hands on her arms and making her face him, "Really, Rose. I want to know." She sighed, unsure how to react to this new side of Christian. They were friends, of course, but weren't ever close by any means. What the hell, she thought, sighing, "I'm coping."
"Lissa is really worried. So am I," he quickly added, "Why don't you come see us tonight after the ball, for New Years? Tasha and Dimitri are coming over." Rose shook her head, "No, its okay, Christian. You don't want me moping around all night." He gave her a quick grin, and said, "This is not the Rose Hathaway I've come to know."
"I miss him," she squeezed out, accepting the hug as if they did it on a regular basis. Christian gave her a tight squeeze, and said, "Think about tonight, okay?" She nodded, and watched him jog off the way they came. This was the best she felt since Adrian left - who knew her and Christian could do more for each other then antagonize? Continuing towards her home, she checked her watch. A few hours until the ball would start - time to get beautiful.
After a quick shower, Rose decided it was time to indulge herself. If she was going to put on a happy face for the night, she was sure as hell going to make the most of it. Rubbing expensive cream Adrian bought her for her birthday last year into her skin, she grinned at the subtle sparkles left covering her tanned arms. For the first time since Adrian left, she felt like herself again. She still couldn't believe it had been a week since he left - god, she could only imagine how miserable she had been to be around for that week. She blow dried her hair, and took care to brush it so that her long locks fell in cascading waves. She didn't use makeup regularly, but a little mascara and lipstick made her features stand out even more. Going to her closet, she selected a tight red dress that came to her ankles in a flowing design. Black heels and accessories picked out, she turned to her hands. The past while had taken its toll - they were rough, and her nails were stubby and uneven. She was going at said nails with a file when there was a knock on the door. Getting up, she opened it to reveal Alex. He smiled at her - looking very handsome in his black dress pants and white button shirt. He even had a red tie on, matching her dress perfectly.
"You look great," he admitted before he said anything else, and she grinned, "Just remember to keep your hands off, Castile. And you don't look to bad yourself." He laughed, offering his arm, "You ready?"
"Ready," she confirmed, "I've never gone anywhere with the sole purpose of being eye candy, its almost exciting." His rich laugh echoed the hall as she closed her door, and they walked towards the ballroom.
AN: There! How are y'all liking it? I'm going to be reviewing all your stories this evening after work, so be sure and review mine :D I need your feedback if this story is going to turn out as great as I hope it will! I know this chapter was shorter, but the next one is guaranteed to be longer. What's going to happen? All I can say, is that Adrian returns.