When the time came to leave, Rose was revved up and ready for action. She had let her emotions out at the gym - tired herself out just enough to forget about them, but not affect her physical form. She was heavily armed - they expected a high number of Strigoi, considering the volume of the attack on the hall. She was standing in the garage, waiting for her team. Spread throughout the large room were numerous other guardians, all gearing up and getting ready. The air was tense, and the conversation short. This was how Rose preferred it. She leaned back against the SUV, and closed her eyes, arms folded.
After she left the Guardian Offices earlier, she had returned to Lissa's, to be with them for awhile. Then, they had all gone to the Infirmary to see the two new members of their group. The babies were gorgeous - like something out of a dream. It made a little ache in Rose's chest - something she would studiously ignore. She had again pitched the idea of Rose as a name, but figured they would go with some fallen hero's name from this mission. It was something Dimitri would do - hell, it was something she would do too.
"Hey," Dimitri's voice said, as he approached. Rose opened her eyes, nodding at him. He was just as heavily armed as she was. She gave him a small smile, and said, "How are your children?" This made a brilliant smile replace the guardian mask on Dimitri's face, and he said, "Amazing." Rose sighed, and pushed off the truck, walking closer, "Stay."
"What?" He asked, brow furrowed. She shook her head, touching the stake strapped to his waist, "Stay here. You can't risk your life a day into theirs. Please, Dimitri. Stay with Tasha." Dimitri didn't reply for a moment, and Rose almost believed she had gotten through to him that easily. Instead, he touched her cheek, and shook his head slowly, "You know I won't."
"Why not? What if you die?" She asked, voicing a big fear in her heart. He met her gaze, and said, "You know I won't let you go alone, Roza. Just because I have my family now, does not mean your not in my heart. And I need to be sure your safe. Besides, someone has to cover you when you do something reckless." She bit her lip, unable to suppress the smile reaching them. She surprised him by throwing her arms around his neck, and he said, "I'll help you get him back."
"Thank you," she whispered in reply. Janine and Eddie were approaching, and Dimitri and Rose broke apart, knowing it was time to leave. Their moment had passed - each of their faces held that carefully constructed guardian mask once more. Janine nodded at them, letting Eddie get behind the wheel. The garage door opened, and one by one, each black SUV drove out, in a straight line, heading out of the gates. Rose couldn't help but wonder how many of them would make it back.
"Move!" A voice snarled, a foot snapping out to kick Adrian's side. He let out a breath of air, wincing as he shifted as far over as he could go. The Strigoi looked down at him, and sneered, "Get up, Ivashkov." Instead of unlocking the chains, the man merely grasped Adrian's wrist, and ripped the chains from the wall. Half-dragging him, they left the room, walking down a pitch-black corridor. Adrian thought he could make out a window with a heavy black covering as they passed - it must be daytime. If the guardian's were going to attack, it would be during the day. This thought gave him a little hope as the Strigoi knocked on a plain door, stepping aside.
After a moment, the door burst open, the silhouette of a woman appearing. Though her features were hidden, the mane of red hair made any hope in Adrian's heart sink. He wished more then ever he'd consumed a bottle or two of wine at the reception.
"Go," Lara's voice commanded, and the man left immediately. Adrian was pulled inside, and thrown face first into a plush day bed. Lara didn't approached, but instead moved around the day bed to pick up a glass of what deceivingly looked like red wine. She took a sip - a line of red dripped down her chin, onto her very exposed chest and down into her dress. She glanced over as she drank, licking her lips when she lowered the glass, "I must say, your dear Queen tastes divine."
"Screw you," Adrian muttered, far past the point of listening to her games. His experience with the oaf that dragged him here, was that no matter what you answered, you still got hurt. Lara was by his side in a flash, her arm whipping out to backhand his already sore left eye. His whole head turned with the force of the blow, and Lara's lips brushed his opposite cheek as she leaned in and whispered, "You'd be smart to remember the position your in, Ivashkov." She licked his cheek slowly, and hummed, making Adrian shiver in fear as she mumbled, "I've been waiting for you for years. Your going to taste even better then Antonius did..."
As they pulled into a large estate's driveway, Rose felt a slight wave of nausea overtake her. She put a hand to her stomach, and nodded, "This is right." The air was tense in the car, and they pulled up next to an identical vehicle, another pulling up beside them. There were eight SUV's in total - One group going in for each of the four important Moroi taken, and another four groups for general backup and taking out the enemy. Rose felt sound with their plan, and she was itching for the first three groups to leave before it was their turn. She turned her face up to the sunlight, and closed her eyes. She had never been religious - hell, she only went to church to see Lissa or escape house arrest, but she wished she knew something she could say right now. Something that would help ease her heavy heart.
"Solnyshko moyo." Dimitri's low voice said beside her. She glanced over, and he said, "Yeva would say that, when thanking the gods for the sun in her garden. All it means is 'my sun', but I think it could be applied here." Rose nodded. He always knew how she was feeling. She felt a sudden urge to get everything out, finally. Just in case.
"I'll always love you, Dimitri," she stated, watching his eyes widen in surprise, "Even when you left me. Besides Lissa, you are my best friend. But Adrian is my whole world now. Please, help me get him back. I can't.." Her voice faltered, but she breathed deeply, and strongly said, "I can't live without him." Dimitri nodded in understanding, "I will." She nodded her head, keeping her eyes lowered.
"It's go time," Eddie said in a serious voice. Rose looked up to see group three rushing towards the left side of the house, their entrance point. She nodded at the rest, and Janine took the lead. Following her, they jogged up to the front door. Janine paused while she stepped aside, and together Dimitri and Eddie shouldered the door, splintering the lock and bursting it open. Dimitri caught it just before it banged against the wall, and he drew his stake, moving silently inside. The rest followed, and Rose felt her skin prickling. This place was just crawling with Strigoi.
"Staircase," Janine whispered, moving into point position again. They were heading towards the grand staircase - to the left of it, Rose spied an almost-hidden staircase going down to the below-ground levels of the house. Her stake felt familiar in her hand, and the nausea was growing. She was at the back, and she felt a sudden rush of air, causing her to spin with her stake aimed out. It raked against the chest of a silent attacker, who shrieked loudly, alerting the others.
"Put him OUT!" Janine hissed, and Rose ducked an angry punch, thrusting her stake up into his chest. She had to thrust it further to pierce his heart, and she didn't remove it until he stopped moving. Everyone held their breath, listening for more movement. When none came, Rose withdrew her stake, nodding, "Good to go." They crept down the staircase, and saw a long, pitch black hallway ahead. It had stone walls, which made Rose's heart speed up. Janine glanced back to make sure they were all ready to go, and as if they waiting for them two Strigoi appeared out the first door.
"Mom!" Rose cried, as she moved to slam her body into one, covering Janine's back. Eddie took the other, landing a low punch to the gut before whipping his stake out, trying to find an opening. Dimitri was busy with a tiny woman who had come down the staircase - he made quick work of her, since she seemed to be more surprised about them then he was of her. They tried to dispatch the Strigoi without creating lots of noise, but the stone walls echoed the feral shrieks and grunts of their attackers, as well as a loud groan as Eddie knocked his head against the wall, his stake sticking out of the last Strigoi left, who was now on the ground.
"Are you okay, Castile?" Janine asked, quickly checking to see if he can go on. He nodded, determined, and said, "Let's go. Rose, do you recognize anything?" Rose shook her head, "We need to go further down. The walls were wet in his cell."
"You two go down this hall - Rose and I will take the one that branched to the left, at the bottom of the stairs," Dimitri said, and Janine nodded in agreement, "We need to cover more ground. It's dark enough down here that there will be active Strigoi - be careful." She gave Rose one last look, and she and Eddie disappeared down the hall into the darkness.
"Come on, we need to hurry," Rose insisted. Dimitri nodded, hurrying with her. They returned to the stairs, and took the smaller, side passage she had not even noticed when they first came down. Instead of stairs, it gradually sloped lower, and soon enough, the walls started to shine with water.
"We're on the right track-" Dimitri started, but Rose gasped, spying the coat of arms. Across the hall from it - and in the right position from the dream - was a door with a small window in the center. Rose was at it in a second, and she peered in, spying a dark body laying on the floor, in chains.
"It's him," she said, forgetting to be quiet. She stepped back, and kicked the door, trying to knock it in. Dimitri moved her over, doing the same thing, and bursting it open. She didn't even spare him a comment as she raced inside, falling to her knees at Adrian's side.
"Adrian. Adrian!" She said, shaking him. When he didn't move, she stopped breathing, staring at him in horror, "No.." A yell from the hall shocked her, and she turned to see Dimitri in the doorway, barring a Strigoi from entering. When she looked back at Adrian, she saw two red eyes glowering at her. When he sprang into action, Rose realized it wasn't Adrian after all, but a Strigoi in disguise. She came to this realization as the Strigoi's jaw clamped down on her forearm, fangs digging deep through flesh until they hit her bone. She screamed, thrusting her body into his, trying to use her left arm to land a blow that might dislodge his teeth. The man kept his jaw firmly shut, but when she managed to loosen the bite a little, her blood started to pour freely around his teeth. It was as if the whole cell had altered - both the Strigoi's Dimitri was fighting, and the one clamped to her arm froze, smelling only the blood seeping from her deep wound. This gave Rose the chance she needed - she pulled a small stake from her left boot, and thrust it down into his chest, just below the line of his collarbones. A hideous scream followed, and as the Strigoi slowly stopped moving, Rose was able to grab the back of his head, pulling his teeth from her arm. Furiously, she spun around, wielding the stake like a sword. One Strigoi backed away, and the other Dimitri cleanly staked. Rose climbed past the dying Strigoi, but the other had already run off, to warn the others no doubt.
"Fuck," Rose hissed, and Dimitri said, "The others are in action. Don't worry. Concentrate." Rose nodded, ripping a piece of her shirt off to wrap the wounds on her arm without really paying attention. Dimitri rubbed blood from his face, and said, "If he isn't here, then where is he?"
"I think we should keep going," Rose reasoned, nodding in the direction they had been heading in before finding his vacated cell. Dimitri nodded in agreement, letting her go first so he could watch their back. They didn't have to go far, before they reached another door. This one didn't have a window or bars, and Dimitri said, "This isn't a cell. Try it?" Rose nodded, and she let Dimitri bust the door open once more. Their stakes ready, they moved in, the heady scent of perfume and blood making Rose gag. The room was only lit in candles, and there were dark stains everywhere. On a once-cream coloured day bed, Adrian lay back, eyes closed, clothes stained with blood.
"Stop," Dimitri commanded, before Rose had a chance to move. Rose hesitated, her heart aching to go to Adrian. She knew they needed to check out the room, and they did this quickly and systematically, finally concluding that it wasn't another trap. Finally, Rose was able to rush to Adrian's side. She whispered, "Adrian. Oh, Adrian, you have to wake up. Open your eyes." She watched him shift, groaning in pain, and she kept insisting in a low voice. Finally, he opened his eyes, weakly gazing up at her. He closed them again, and hoarsely whispered, "Be careful. She's here, somewhere."
"We'll get you out first," Dimitri said, coming over after giving Rose a private moment with him. Dimitri eyed his face, and frowned.
"What?" Rose asked quickly, wondering what he saw that she didn't. Dimitri hesitated, then said, "He can't walk. We can't fight if we have to hold on to him. He needs time, or blood..." Rose looked confused for a moment as Dimitri trailed off, before the realization dawned on her, and she blushed bright red.
"I'll guard the door," Dimitri said, meeting her gaze dead on to show this wasn't something to be embarrassed about. As he moved to pass her, he stopped, and softly said, "This is for his sake. If anything, I think more of you for doing this, Rose." Rose blushed still, but nodded. Dimitri walked to the door, staring straight out into the passage, not closing it for fear of being cut off from them.
"Adrian. Adrian, you need to bite me," Rose said, lifting his head. He shook his head, opening his eyes again, "Rose-"
"You need to. We need to go! Please, just hurry." She lowered her face against his, brushing her lips to his softly before she shifted, placing her neck in the correct place against his mouth. She felt him hesitate, then realize that they were right - he really, really needed blood. He'd lost too much and not fed in too long. She closed her eyes as she felt two pricks of his sharp teeth on her lower neck, and she stroked his arm encouragingly as he began to draw out her blood.
Before too long, she had to stop him - she had to be able to fight still. As she drew away, she helped him up, praying he was able to walk. He stood, uneasy and unsteady, but he looked at her neck, whispering, "I hate that we had to do that." She offered him a quick, reassuring smile, "Stick with us the best you can." He nodded, letting her take his hand. Dimitri glanced over his shoulder as they spoke, and as he went to say something, a shape loomed in front of him, sending him backwards into the room. Rose pulled Adrian roughly behind her, backing him up. Lara's voice laughed, the sound ringing through the room.
"Did you really think I would let you leave that easily?" Lara asked, coming into the candlelight once more. She was as beautiful as ever, and her cheeks were slightly flushed - flushed with Adrian's blood, Rose thought, as she helped Dimitri to his feet after that chest-crunching blow. Fury surged inside of her, and she hissed, "Get the fuck out of our way."
"But you and I could be the best of friends," Lara mumbled, shooting Rose a grin full of sharp teeth. Rose growled, a stake in her hand, and before she could move Lara pounced, faster then anything Rose had ever fought. Dimitri kept Adrian against the wall, despite Adrian telling him to help her. Rose fell into the glass coffee table, Lara's weight on top of her smashing it into pieces. She felt shards pierce her back, but ignored it, gritting her teeth as she put her skills against that of a centuries-old Strigoi.
"Give in, Rosemarie," Lara's voice laughed, as she scraped her nails across Rose's chest. Rose cried out in pain, thrusting up her legs to flip herself back up, trying to gain the upper hand. Her stake had caught Lara a few times, but never enough to pull her down. She managed to get out from underneath her, scrambling back and up as Lara casually inspected a round hole in her thigh. For the moment, the two circled each other, sizing up their next moves.
"You know, we could be great together," Lara softly said, strutting up to Rose confidently. She gave her a seductive smile, "I can share my power. I can turn you. Make you irresistible. Make you immortal." Rose flicked her gaze to Dimitri, who caught the hint, and came at Lara from the side while she was distracted. With a scream of frustration, Lara whirled around, throwing Dimitri easily into the bed. A post snapped as he hit it, and the canopy fell, collapsing and trapping him momentarily underneath. Lara whirled to Adrian, hissing through her teeth as she launched herself towards him in one big jump. Rose moved faster then she knew she could, and appeared in the spot moments before Lara did, the full force of Lara's attack hitting her square in the chest. All the air was squeezed out of her, and she slammed into the wall, sliding down it in pain. Adrian swore, falling down beside her, trying to help her catch her breath. Lara laughed, producing a silver ceremonial dagger from the folds of her gown.
"Once again, Ivashkov, your dear woman dies for you. And you'll follow shortly." Lara raised the dagger over her head, pausing for a moment of dramatic flair. Rose groaned, trying to move, with Adrian searching frantically for a weapon. Dimitri was fighting his way out of the collapsed bed, and just as he made it, Lara brought the knife down fluidly, connecting with flesh sooner then she expected. When she looked down, she saw Rose still laying there, catching her breath, looking horrified and covered in splattered blood. During the last few moment, Janine had appeared in the doorway, having turned back for them with Eddie when they realized they were getting nowhere. She saw the dagger approaching Rose's chest, and at the last minute, had dove in front of her. The petite woman collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, sending waves of pain through her entire body.
It was as if someone had possessed Rose. She gave a war cry - one very similar to the one she had once used during a training session with Dimitri- and she jumped up, attacking Lara physically with full force. Lara had been surprised to see Janine there, and she was slow to return the attack, caught far off her guard. Rose backed her into a wall, pummeling her with hit after hit, and Dimitri yelled, "ROSE!" He threw a thick, splintered piece of bedpost in her direction, and Rose twisted, catching it and carrying on its momentum. Her adding force helped as it pierced Lara's chest. Lara's horrified, throaty gasp was the only sound in the room other then Janine's laboured breaths, and Rose pushed furhter on the piece of bedpost, so hard that the other side splintered against the stone wall behind Lara's body.
"No..." Lara whispered, looking down. In a voice no one would recall as something that resembled her normal voice, Rose said, "You'll never hurt us again, Lara. Die slowly." Lara slowly fell to her knees, and Rose didn't move from her position until Lara had collapsed on her chest, immobile, eyes still wide open. Dead. Rose felt a huge rush of relief, kneeling down to make sure Lara wasn't going to spring up and surprise anyone.
"Rose, you need to come here," Adrian said, his voice still hoarse, but with a worried edge. Rose glanced over, looking past Dimitri who was standing silently by the ruined bed, and her heart froze when she comprehended what had happened. Her mother lay, on the floor next to Adrian, bleeding from the dagger that was still stuck deep in the center of her labouring chest.
A/N: Finally, a climactic scene. This was very hard to write, and they aren't out of the manor yet! Please let me know how the story is going for you, feedback is much appreciated. :)