Twisted Rose

Well, thank you very much to everyone who reviewed on the last chapter. I hope you all enjoy this one and please keep the feedback coming. Oh, and I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas!

Lyrics: In the end as you fade into the night who will tell the story of your life?

Chapter Four

My heart was pounding in my chest as I walked back into the house. What on Earth had just happened? Did I really just have a conversation to the beautiful Adrian Ivashkov? Did I really flirt with the handsome man? Oh good god. If my mother found out that I had been flirting, I would get the biggest slap right across the face. A grin had been playing at my lips as I walked back through the house, up the main staircase that led to my bedroom.

Adrian Ivashkov had shown an interest in me. I kept repeating the words in my head, still not sure that it had really happened. Every single girl in the village would want to be in my position. Absolutely everyone thought that Adrian was a wonderful looking man. Everyone knew that he was a gentleman too. To even have him spare you a second glance was a blessing.

"You seem happy, Rose" A voice said from behind me. My thoughts abruptly came to a halt as I searched for the voice. Well, it was an easy one to figure out. Of course it would be Dimitri that was walking behind me.

"Hello, Mr Belikov" I greeted. "And yes, I am very happy" After talks last night, he didn't seem to understand why I was being so formal with him. This must be the first servant job he had ever had. He clearly didn't understand the etiquette.

"May I ask why?" He asked as he flashed me a smile. Oh, he believed this was a game. He didn't understand how serious this was. My mother didn't want me to converse with him more than I had to. If she saw this, Dimitri would be in huge amounts of trouble.

"No you may not" I answered. If it had been about anyone other than Adrian, I would have probably told him but, as it stands, this was my secret that I didn't want anyone else to know. I wanted to keep it all to myself and enjoy the privacy of the moment I had spent with him. Goodness, it seemed as though I was smitten after a few exchanged words.

"I apologise, Miss Hathaway" He said as he bowed ever so slightly at me, graceful even though he towered over me. His jaw hardened as he stood up. Something I had said had annoyed him. It didn't take a genius to work it out. I had led him into a false sense of security and then practically sneered at him as I told him he wasn't allowed to know any details of my life.

I should be thankful to him. After all, he had been the one to stop me from running away. In reality, I should owe him with my life. Yet, here I am. Acting like a complete witch to him.

"I must be going" He informed, not waiting for my reply as he stalked down the stairs once more. Well, I hadn't been expecting that. At that moment, I chose to do exactly what my mother would have done had she been in that same situation. I simply ignored him and thought about how he was just staff and his opinions didn't matter, nor did I care about them.

I wish to God that I had known that that would probably be one of the biggest mistakes I would ever make in my life.

To turn out like my mother would be dastardly in itself…but to turn out like her and project all of her hatred onto Dimitri would be unfathomable. I shouldn't do that to him…no, I couldn't do that to him. He had done nothing to me apart from help me out in times that I needed it.

Once I had reached my room, I had only managed to have a tiny moment of peace before the door snapped open and Lillia came waltzing in with a large smile on her face. Well, this was what it was always like and probably always would be like. Whatever my duties were…they came first.

"Yes, Lillia" I allowed as I looked at her expectantly. It must be so hard to need permission to speak.

"Your mother wants to see you" She informed. I wished that I could live in a normal home. That way, my mother would be the one to come up and tell me that. She shouldn't need a servant to call for her child. "She says it's very important. Something about Mr Ivashkov."

"Oh gosh, what have I done now?" I grumbled as I pushed myself out of the armchair and stood in front of Lillia.

"Oh, I don't think you've done anything wrong" She assured as she smiled again. "Actually, she sounded very pleased with you. You should hurry down. You don't want to test her patience"

With a small nod, I followed her out of my bedroom and walked calmly down the main staircase to the living room where my mother was standing. If I had hurried, I would only be scolded from her.

"Ah, Rose" She sighed as I took the seat next to her. "I need to speak with you about a certain gentleman" She had a small smile on her face. This was different to how I had ever seen her. She always had a stony glare fixed on that marred face of hers.

"Is this Adrian?" I asked as I trained my eyes on the window. Please say she wasn't going to actually suggest this.

"Of course it is" She answered. "He's taken quite the interest in you which is why he's invited to my dinner on Sunday and he will also be invited to every one after that…as your husband" My mind went blank as I attempted to process everything that she had just said. Panic set in as I thought about what the rest of my life was set to be like. Oh goodness, what was going to happen to me? "Well, say something" She snapped at me as my eyes bugged out wide. This could not be happening to me.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!?" I shouted at her as I leapt from my seat and glared at her. She cowered away from me for a split second before her fiery personality joined my own.

"Rosemarie Hathaway, don't you dare use that kind of language with me or you'll be out on the streets before you know it" She threatened as she glared once more. "You ungrateful bastard" In all of my life, I had never heard my mother swear and hearing that word come out of her mouth cut deep into me like a knife.

"How am I ungrateful?" I questioned. "I would much rather live on the streets than be bullied into a marriage that I didn't want by you, you little shit" I had never used a word like that either. It was the height of bad manners and made me feel cheap, but she had angered me so much.

A sharp slap connected with my face as she stood over me. My eyes burned as tears threatened to spill, but I couldn't dare let her see the pain she was causing me. I couldn't let her win this one.

"Don't you dare call me that again" She hissed under her breath. "Stop acting like a cheap, little whore. You will settle down and it will be with a man of my choosing. It certainly won't be with that Russian servant, Dimitri"

His name hung in the air like a bad smell. The simple fact that she used his name had me stunned into silence. Before I even had a chance to think of a comeback, she had sauntered from the room and left me standing there with my flaming red cheek.

Dimitri's Point Of View

The shouting soon stopped and I saw Lady Hathaway strut away from the room as I stood hidden in the shadows. Silence fell over the house. No one was on the ground floor anymore. The whereabouts of Lady Hathaway were unknown.

Why had her mother mentioned me when she was shouting at her? What had I done to make Lady Hathaway believe that I wanted to wed her daughter? My mind felt so confused as I closed my eyes. I had only been here for a couple of days and I was already causing problems for everyone who lived here. Maybe it would be best for me to just pack my bags and hand in my notice. That way I wouldn't cause problems between Rose and her mother and she would be able to live the life that she was destined to live.

Small cries filled the silence the emitted from the living room. Rose was in tears because of what her mother had done to her. At that moment, I realised that this wasn't all about me. If I thought that how I was feeling was bad, Rose would be going through a dreadful time. The heart wrenching feeling made all of my sanity seep away as I moved from my place in the shadows and into the living room. She stood with her back to me, hunched over as she clutched at her cheek. Her body was shaking as she wept.

"Rose" I breathed. She lurched around and simply stared at me before her face softened and she allowed me to take her into my arms. She didn't deserve to feel like this…didn't deserve to feel this controlled and broken.

"Dimitri, I don't know what to do anymore" She whispered into my shoulder as her arms wrapped tightly around my neck, her hair tickling my nose. "I don't want to marry Adrian"

"Shh, Rose" I comforted. I could lie to her and tell her that she wouldn't have to marry him because we both knew that if her mother wanted it, she would get it.

"I don't want to stay here anymore" She cried. "Please just take me to Russia. Just get me out of here" Her words made me hopeful. She was a beautiful girl that I would be lucky to marry, but her words were also helpless. She was just distressed. If she was in her right frame of mind, she would never suggest anything like this. As appealing as it may sound, I couldn't take advantage of her. I had been raised not dragged.

"Roza, you can't leave here" I reminded. "You have Vasilisa and you need to look after this place. Please don't cry. Everything's going to be okay"

"I'm sorry I'm making you deal with all of these problems" She apologised as she stepped out of my arms. Reluctantly, I took a step back. "You have your own issues to deal with and I'm just making everything worse for you"

"Nonsense" I argued. "I don't mind helping you when you need it. I certainly don't mind comforting you when you're crying. Your tears ruin beauty. We can't have a princess like you ruin her beauty." My words seemed to amuse her. A grin rose to her face and she let out a small chuckle, the sound being melancholic.

"Thank you, Dimitri" She whispered.

"It's no problem at all" I assured. "If you ever need to talk to me about anything, you know where I am." She simply looked at me with a smile before nodding and walking out, leaving me standing there feeling like a fool.

What on Earth had I just done?

Well, did you like it being in Dimitri's point of view for once? Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and please leave a review XD