Dimitri POV

I went in to the living room, leaving Roza in the capable hands of Sydney. I had time before I need to go back to her and my stomach was growling. I didn't make it to the kitchen though because everyone was arguing in hushed tones. No one noticed as I stood in the doorway, trying to understand what was happening.
Abe was hissing at Vasilisa. "This is all your fault. Your her best friend, her sister. You should have known what was happening to her."
"This isn't her fault. She's been going through a lot since they lost the bond. Rose didn't tell her what was going on."
"I wasn't talking to you, Ozera. You want to talk about who's to blame for that?" Abe asked, throwing his arm in Roza's direction. "Let's talk about your aunt, shall we? She did this to my daughter."
"She's dead." Christian said simply.
"She did this. She's responsible. Your family have brought nothing but trouble to mine."
"Abe-"
"No, Janine. She did this. She framed our daughter for the murder of Tatiana. She was going to let her be executed. She shot her. The girls lost their bond and now this... We could lose her."
Janine moaned, an agonising sound that tore through me. She was feeling the same pain that I was, though I suppose hers was different. There was something about mothers and their children, something that I would never be able to understand.
"No one could have known what she was going through, Abe." Christian said calmly. "We didn't know about the letters until she told us."
"She would have come to you sooner if she felt that she could."
"You don't know that. Rose isn't the kind of person that burdens other people. She was seeing ghosts for a long time before she told anyone." Christian pointed out. "You didn't even know her then. You can't come in here and blame us for not doing something when you were absent for most of her life. As were you." He said to Janine.
"How dare you speak to us like-"
"Perhaps we should all calm down." I said, interupting them before it went to far. "Tearing each other apart won't help Roza."
"How is she?" Janine asked.
"The same. Sydney is working on the antidote." I said, running a hand through my hair.
"Will it work? Will she be okay?" Janine asked.I didn't know what to say to her. I didn't want to lie to her or give her false hope. I also didn't want to give up hope. It was difficult to know what to say to her, but thankfully I didn't have to work it out.
Sydney came in with a sombre expression. "I've given Rose the antidote and it appears to be working. The poison is working it's way out of her system slowly but surely. It shouldn't be too long until she's awake, if you'd like to come and wait."
Abe and Janine, Vasilisa and Christian and even the guardians went in to Roza's room. Sydney stayed in the living room with me.
"Thank you, Sydney." I said, knowing that I would never be able to repay her for saving my Roza.
"You're welcome, Dimitri."
"How did you find the antidote?"
"It was simple really. There's a rhyme that I learned when I was a child. My father had taken my sister and I on vacation to Australia. Of course, it wasn't really a vacation, it was a job. Not that we knew that at the time. Australia is well known for it's venomous animals, so we learned a rhyme. Red touches yellow, kills a fellow. Red touches black, venom lack. Yellow touches red, soon you'll be dead. Red touches black, friend of Jack."
"I'll have to remember that."
"They don't have too many snakes here at Court, or in Russia for that matter."
"No, they don't. How did that apply to the Amphisbaena?"
"Part of being an Alchemist is knowing everything that goes on in the world. I had to make a few calls and feign interest in the Amphisbaena and their gifts. I managed to get a description emailed over to me." She took out her phone and showed me a photograph.
The Amphisbaena, the creature of myth and legend, really did exist. It looked a lot like the pictures of dragons that I'd seen when I was boy, the only difference was that it had two head. Its tail was similar to a snake's, the colours were red and yellow, which really told me nothing other than it was poisonous, but we already knew that.
"So," Sydney continued. "The next thing was to work out what kind of poison it was. Some venoms can kill instantly, some within the hour and some takes days to actually kill the victim. Take King Cobras for example; one bite and a healthy adult human will be dead within fifteen minutes without immediate medical care. Of course, my contact also gave me that information. The average time for the Amphisbaena venom to kill is around eighteen to twenty hours but then it depends how much was administered. Rose could have been given more or less than an average dose. The only known antidote is mixture of chemicals which thankfully are all in my kit. Liquid calcium, Europium, Iodine, Iron, Zinc and Xenon. All mized together over a low eat and then the poison has to be added last. Of course, the poison was tainted with Roza's blood but it's really the best that we can hope for under the circumstances."
"She's going to be okay?"
"She'll have a headache for a few days and her arm will need to heal but othwerwise, she should be just fine." Sydney said and then went back in to the bedroom to check on her patient.

I was alone in the living room, wondering if my Roza was really going to be okay. I wanted to go to her, to be there for her when she woke up but I wasn't sure that I could be. In some ways, I couldn't help but feel guilty for what had happened to her.
Christian was right, Roza rarely burdened others with her problems but Abe had been right also. If she'd have felt like she could come to us, she would have done it sooner. She wouldn't have had to leave Court so that she had space to think things through and then she'd have been fine. Abe had asked me where I was but I didn't have an answer for him. I'd been with Roza every day since she'd been shot. I'd helped her to manage the pain, to shower, to sit up properly in those first weeks when she hadn't been able to do it for herself. I'd kept her company and made sure that she took care of herself. I'd done everything that I knew to do and yet it still hadn't been enough.
She'd said that I was suffocating her but I'd just been trying to help her. Perhaps this really was my fault. Perhaps I was the reason that she'd left the safety of Court or hadn't felt that she could show me the threats. I couldn't understand why though. I'd done nothing but try to help her.
We hadn't been intimate since Roza had been shot, which I knew she was happy about. She'd been snapping at me for a couple of weeks before this. Was that the issue or had she finally worked out that I wasn't worthy of her, that she could do better. That she could have someone that could give her the world when all I could give her was myself. I'd always known that children weren't something that Roza had planned for herself, but I'd always thought that she should have that option. With me, it would never be an option. I'd always wanted children myself and adored my sisters' children but it was something that I was willing to let go of for her. Could she do the same for me?
I busied myself with tidying up the living room, taking the cups in to the kitchen and washing them. I didn't know how long I'd been doing it but Christian came to find me whilst I was putting them back in the cupboard.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
I nodded but didn't trust myself to answer him.
"Are you sure? I don't think I'd be okay if it were Liss lying there." He said and rested his hand awkwardly on my shoulder.
Christian and I had become close over the last few months. After Ivan died, I'd always sworn that I would never become attached to a charge but with Chrisitan it was different. I was his guardian and he was my charge but it was more than that. His girlfriend was my girlfriend's best friend, so we socialised together a lot. We stuck together when the girls ganged up on us. I'd become attached to him, as I had Vasilisa, and I appreciated his concern. "I'll be okay when she's awake."
"Then I suggest you go in there with a smile on your face. She's awake." He said.
"She is?" I asked, almost dropping the cup that I was holding.
"She's got a headache but the first person that she asked for was you."
"Is she all right?"
"As well as can be expected I think. She's confused and her arm hurts but she's fine." Christian said, takin the cup from my hands. "Go."
I walked away from him without another word and headed to our bedroom. I couldn't see her at first because everyone was crowding around her. The guardians were around the walls of our room, Abe and Janine were sitting on either side of her and Vasilisa was by her feet. I went closer to the bed and my heart almost stopped when I saw her.
Her skin still had a faint green tinge to it when the poison had webbed out but otherwise, she looked like herself. She smiled and held her hand out to me invitation. I took it and let her pull me towards her.
"Hey, Comrade." She said. It was wonderful to hear her voice again.