Dimitri's Point of View
"I think you need another one." Ivan told me, handingover another beer.
We were sitting on the roof of the academy, a place I used to sneak up to as a kid when I wanted to be alone. It was my own private place, and I liked to come here whenever I needed to think.
Ever since my phone call with Abe this afternoon, my head was spinning.
*Flashback*
"Belikov, do you have any idea what time it is?" Abe asked.
Clearly I hadn't been paying any attention to the time difference.
"Tell me what really happened to Rose's mother." I demanded, not even bothering with any pleasantries. I needed to know how much Abe knew about this. As far as Rose knew her mother was killed in a Strigoi attack when she was seven.
The silence on the other end told me I had definitely caught him by surprise.
After a long pause he finally spoke.
"Belikov, I think you better tell me what exactly is going on there."
After filling him in on Rose's new found interest in Frankie and the mysterious little Moroi that she was, Abe let out a heavy sigh and I knew I wouldn't like what I was about to hear.
"When Rosemarie was seven her mother was taken, but not killed."
"By who?" I asked, not having any kind of patience for his usual theatrics.
"Victor Dashkov."
Son of a bitch.
"Before Rosemarie was born, he was obsessed with her. He spent years pinning after Janine, but she never returned his affections. After he turned Strigoi, we thought he was out of our lives for good; but we were wrong. In the years that everything was quiet, he was silently building up his army and when Rosemarie was seven he attacked. His Strigoi slaughtered our entire household, and the only reason he spared me was so that I would suffer. Life without Janine was unbearable…and I couldn't even be around Rose without seeing her. It's the reason there was so much distance between us for all those years. I was too weak to face her, not when she reminded me so much of her mother."
I could hear the desperation in his voice, and I wondered if that's how I would feel if I ever lost Rose.
"All these years I figured Victor had turned her, but if she was able to drop that child off at the academy then I'm not so sure."
I was so busy trying to wrap my head around the fact that Rose's mother was still alive, that I hadn't even thought of that.
"But why would he keep her as a Moroi all these years?"
It didn't make any sense. Not after all the crazy talk about him needing a Strigoi Queen.
"That my boy is a good question." Abe mused. I could almost picture him stroking his long beard.
*End Flashback*
"Dude, what are you going to tell Rose?" Ivan asked.
"Beats the hell out of me." I admitted, taking another swig of my beer.
How do you tell the woman that you love that the psychotic Strigoi who has been stalking her is actually responsible for kidnapping her mother when she was seven and that her own father let her believe that she was dead all these years.
As if they don't have a tenuous enough relationship…
"Well whatever you do, you've got to tell her. She has a right to know D, and she'll never forgive you if you don't."
I knew Ivan was right. I had learned my lesson about keeping things from Rose in the past, and I wasn't about to make the same mistake twice.
When I got back to our room, she was sitting on our bed reading Frankie story.
"Hi Dimka." Frankie chirped up when I walked in.
She really was a sweet kid. Too bad I was pretty sure she had nefarious origins.
"How was your day?" I asked, pressing a kiss to Rose's forehead. Frankie leaned forward, clearly wanting a kiss of her own. I chuckled a little at her antics, but obliged to please Rose. She smiled fondly at the action.
"We had a great day." Rose told me, returning to Frankie's story.
For once I was grateful that Rose was sufficiently distracted. I had spent most of the afternoon trying to figure out how to tell her, but every scenario I played out in my mind just didn't seem right.
"Is everything okay?" Rose asked me, after returning from walking Frankie back to her room. Her beautiful face looked at me with such concern that I seriously contemplated not telling her. I didn't want to be responsible for causing her any more grief.
"Dimitri…" She started. "Just talk to me. You know you can tell me anything."
I knew that she meant it. Her eyes were so full of earnest concern.
With a defeated sigh I took her small hands in mine.
"Roza Milaya, I think we need to talk."
Rose's Point of View
"Lissa!" I shouted, banging on her door.
"Lissa, open up!" I pleaded.
I couldn't believe it.
I still couldn't believe it. Was everyone in my life keeping secrets from me?
"Rose, what's wrong?" Lissa asked sleepily as she stood in the opened doorway in her pajamas. I could tell from her disheveled state that I had woken her.
I opened my mouth to tell her, but the only thing that came out was tears.
*Flashback*
"What do you mean my mother is alive?"
I didn't understand what Dimitri was talking about. My mother was killed by a Strigoi when I was seven; everyone knew that.
"Roza it's complicated, but please I need you to just sit down." He urged, pushing me back towards the bed.
"Dimitri I don't understand." I told him. He wasn't making any sense.
He looked at me with the most tortured expression before taking a seat on the bed beside me.
"I was looking into Frankie's past today and the Head Master told me she had an aunt...Her name was Janine Hathaway."
What?
"Why were you looking into Frankie's past?" I shouted. I knew he had been acting weird about her lately, but for the life of me I didn't know why.
"That's not important right now Roza. Now just listen. After I heard that, I called your father and he told me some things…"
"What kind of things?" I asked, my eyes narrowing.
"Rose, he told me that he lied to you; that your mother didn't die when you were seven, she was taken. And the person who took her was Victor Dashkov."
What the hell?
"Dimitri this is crazy. Why would Victor want to take my mother?" I asked. The words were out of my mouth before I had really thought about them, but the moment I did it all made sense.
If Victor was obsessed with my mother, that would explain his obsession with me.
"Abe told me he was in love with your mother. And after the attack he thought she'd been turned. It's the reason why he never went to look for her; he had no reason to believe she was still alive."
"Why are you telling me this now?" I asked. My head was spinning and I really needed Dimitri to say something that made a little sense.
"Well if it really was Janine that brought Frankie to the academy 2 years ago then there's a chance she might still be a Moroi. It's the only way she'd have been able to get past the wards."
Frankie.
"What were you doing investigating Frankie in the first place?" I asked, my previous annoyance bubbling to the surface. I could tell this was a part of the conversation he didn't want to have. He was looking everywhere but at me when he spoke again.
"Roza, I know how much you care about her, but I've just had this strange feeling. I don't really know how to explain it, but given what I know now, I think she has something to do with Victor."
Seriously?
"Dimitri, don't be ridiculous. She's a little girl. What could she possibly know about Victor?" I shouted. He was walking a thin line here bringing Frankie into this, and I wasn't sure how much longer my temper would hold.
"I'm not saying she knows anything about Victor, but I think Victor knows something about her. I was reading her file today and …"
"You were reading her file?" I screeched. Why the hell was he treating her like this? I thought he loved her as much as I did.
"Roza please, just calm down." He urged.
Calm down? He wanted me to calm down?
"Don't tell me to calm down! I just found out my mother's alive, my father's been lying to me my whole life, and my boyfriend's been sneaking around my back spying on an innocent little girl like she's some sort of criminal!"
"Roza please!" he shouted, standing up to stare down at me. "I know you're angry but I'm just trying to keep you safe. I made a promise to always protect you, and if that means I need to shake a few trees to find answers then that's what I'm going to do. I won't apologize for that!
I stared back at him incredulously but I could hardly stand the sight of him.
"Where are you going?" He asked exasperated when I started to grab my coat and head to the door. I was still wearing my pajamas but what did I care. I needed to get some air and I needed it fast.
"Out!" I shouted back, slamming the door.
Lord knows he's pulled that card on me enough times during this trip. Let's see how much he likes it.
*End Flashback*
"Wow." Was all Lissa said.
"Rose, I know you don't want to hear this…but he has a point." Christian added, looking nervous on the couch next to Lissa.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I screeched as Lissa reached out to grab my hand. She gave it a gentle squeeze of support.
"Frankie's a great kid Rose, but she's also a little off. Ivan and I have talked about it before too. If there's even the slightest chance that Victor has anything to do with all of this, can you really blame Dimitri for being concerned?"
What was with everyone thinking Frankie was so strange; she was a child for crying out loud!
I mean sure, she was extremely advanced in the elements for her age. And she seemed to be well on her way to mastering them all, even spirit. And ok, when we'd worked together on hand to hand combat she had shown extraordinary reflexes. But that didn't make her some sort of mini monster or anything. She was just special. She was unique.
While I was busy mulling over my own thoughts in my head, Christian seemed to interpret my silence as permission to continue.
"Look, all I'm saying is that you should talk to him. Try to understand what this has been like for him. Dimitri loves you Rose, more than anything in this world. And with the threat of Victor hanging over your head, it's completely normal for the guy to feel a little paranoid. Just give the man a break."
I would never admit this to Christina, but he might be right.
I knew how stressed out Dimitri had been, and was it really so terrible that he was so looking out for me.
Perhaps I had over reacted a little…
"Fine." I grumbled in defeat, hating the smug smile that spread out on Christians face. Thankfully he didn't say anymore to rub it in.
As I made my way back down the hall to my room, I felt my phone start vibrating in my pocket. I fished it out expecting it to be an apology text from Dimitri but instead I was stopped clean in my tracks.
There was no sign of who sent it, but honestly that was the least of my concerns. I was more focused on the picture that was attached. The picture of my sweet little Frankie bound and gagged in a wooden chair.
Meet me in the old Guardian post in 10 minutes or she's dead. And come alone.