Dimitri's Point of View
"Maybe you should knock first." Ivan smirked and I had to resist the urge to punch him in the arm.
We were standing outside of Victoria's dorm room and I was trying to get up the nerve to face her. I didn't want to think about my baby sister being intimate, never mind seeing it. But Rose had insisted that after the way I'd reacted, I needed to apologize and made it clear in no uncertain terms there'd be no sex for me if I didn't.
So with a deep breath, I knocked on the door.
I could hear sniffles and feet shuffling from the other side before it opened, and the look on Victoria's face when it did broke my heart.
"Dimka, я так извиняюсь!" (Dimka I'm so sorry!) She wailed, throwing herself into my arms. I was a little caught off guard, but recovered quick enough.
She was still sobbing uncontrollably and I wasn't exactly sure what to do. You'd think with as many times as this happened with Rose, I'd be used to it, but this was different. When Rose cried I almost always knew what it was about, but with Vika I didn't have a clue.
"Виктория, что случилось? "(Victoria, what's wrong?) I asked, leading her into the room. When we sat down on the bed she flung herself back into my arms.
"Я смеюсь над собой!"(I'm so stupid!) She cried. "Я подумал, что он меня любил!" (I thought he loved me.)
That son of a bitch.
I felt Ivan put a restraining hand on my shoulder, cautiously reminding me of what happened the last time I lost my temper.
I knew that no good son of a bitch was using my sister.
The big brother in my wanted to go rip off his head, but he probably hadn't fully recovered from the last time I had attacked him, and right now Victoria needed me.
SHH, просто дышать, все будет в порядке. Я обещаю. ( Shh, just breathe. Everything's going to be okay. I promise.)
I sat with Victoria for the next hour, trying to console her and secretly counting down the minutes until I could tell Rose that I had been right. After seeing the way my sister looked now, Sasha had gotten off easy this morning, and he'd do well to remember that.
When I got back to the room, I found Rose was already there waiting for me. Of course the gloating would have to wait because apparently she'd made a new friend.
Sitting on the bed in our room was the most adorable little girl I had ever seen, with the most captivating teal blue eyes. She was covering her eyes while she counted to 10 and I noticed Rose wink at me from her hiding spot behind the closet door.
What had I just walked into?
"Ready or not, here I come!" The little girl squealed, but the second she uncovered her eyes and saw me she screamed.
Crap, I scared her.
Of course I scared her. I'm a 6'7 stranger she just caught staring at her.
"Shhh, it's okay Frankie!" Rose cooed, jumping out of the closet. "Nice work Comrade, way to scare the baby!" She teased.
The little girl eagerly clung to Rose for safety and snuggled into her chest.
"It's okay, it's okay." She kept telling the little girl over and over. They looked more like a mother and daughter than new friends.
Was I really only gone an hour?
"Frankie, this is my boyfriend I told you about." She told the little girl, who lifted her head out of the crook of Rose's neck to inspect me.
"Dimitri, this is my new friend Frankie."
"Hello." I told her tentatively, crouching down so I was more at her level. I knew my height could be intimidating and I didn't want to frighten her again.
"Hi." She whispered, peeking out at me from behind her little brown curls.
She really was a beautiful child.
"See, now were all friends!" Rose smiled brightly, tickling the little girl's sides. In her arms Frankie began to giggle wildly and the sound was intoxicating; I couldn't help but join in.
"Are you hungry Milaya?" I asked, knowing Rose hadn't eaten anything since breakfast.
"Famished!" She told me, standing up and pulling a little Frankie to her feet. "We were just waiting for you to get back before heading out."
"Are you hungry Frankie?" I asked, and she nodded her little head eagerly. It was pretty adorable and Rose and I both started laughing again.
"Well then ladies…shall we?" I asked, offering Rose my arm.
She looked at Frankie who was beaming brightly and nodded.
"We shall."
All throughout dinner I couldn't shake this strange feeling. I didn't want to believe it had something to do with Frankie, but the more time I spent with her, the more unsettled I became.
Rose however was the opposite. She was drawn to the little girl like a moth to a flame. Everything she did was captivating and she couldn't stop gushing about how adorable she was; and she was right.
But there was something else there, something I couldn't quite put my finger on. And when we settled into bed that night I needed answers.
"How much do you know about her?" I asked, as Rose was finishing brushing out her hair. She was wearing one of my old St. Basil's t shirts as a nightgown and making it difficult to focus on anything else.
"Not much." She mused, pulling the brush through her hair. "I found her in the cafeteria in tears and she said she was lonely. It kind of reminded me of when my parents used to leave me at the academy over the holidays, until I started going home with Lissa."
Rose sounded so wistful when she talked about that time, and I couldn't understand why Abe and her mother had ever thought it was okay to leave her behind.
"Did she say anything about her family?"
"Just that she didn't have one. Why are you asking so many questions?" She asked curiously; as she peeled back the blankets and climbed in bed beside me.
I wasn't really sure what to tell her. I wasn't even sure myself.
"Just curious I guess." I half lied, hoping she wouldn't hear the slight edge in my voice.
"So Sasha broke things off with Victoria huh?" Rose asked, turning my attention to a more serious matter.
I still hadn't decided what I was going to do about him. He was a combat instructor here and a good one at that. But that didn't mean I was willing to let him get away with taking advantage of his students. If he'd done it to Victoria, who knew how many others there had been.
"Now I kind of wish I hadn't pulled you off him Comrade." Rose mused, trailing a hand lightly across my bare chest. I knew what she was doing. She wanted to have this conversation while keeping me mildly distracted.
Well, it was definitely working.
"That makes two of us Milaya." I replied, running my own fingers lightly under the fabric of her t shirt. She let out a soft moan and I was done for.
We didn't talk anymore that night, about Frankie or Sasha. But before I drifted off to sleep holding Rose, I made a mental note to look more into Frankie's background tomorrow.
Unknown Point of View
What is it with women and babies?
I suppose I should be grateful. The child was exactly the distraction I needed. I had worked far too long on this plan to let any of those meddlesome blood bags keep me from getting what I want.
We'd spent years experimenting on those weaklings and now the formula was complete.
We done the research, and knew what worked. We also knew what didn't. It was the reason some of those little brats had ended up at the academies. Personally I thought we should just terminate them, but that tiresome woman had persuaded me otherwise.
What did I care if they were innocent children? Innocent is just another term for weak, and I don't tolerate weakness.
But I'm nothing if not practical, and when she suggested we could use the children as spies, I agreed. Surely they could live so long as they served a purpose. I just never imagined one would serve so useful now…
Not only had I managed to locate Rose's new whereabouts, I had the perfect distraction in order to get to her. She was smitten with the child, the way all of the un-awakened seemed to be. It was something about their genetic makeup that seemed to draw people in, like the perfect predator. It was one of the greatest strengths these children possessed. The prey came right to them like the fools they are.
And now Rosemarie was just as foolish as the rest.
She had fallen prey to my little experiment and now I had her exactly where I wanted her.