Rose's Point of View
"Are you ready for this?" Dimitri asked?
We'd been hiding out in our bedroom for the last two days, trying to enjoy our engagement bubble for as long as possible.
Unfortunately for us, it was time to reemerge.
We'd been summoned to breakfast by the Queen B herself and if she hadn't heard the news of our engagement yet she was about to.
With an unsteady nod, Dimitri took a hold of my shaky hand and we confidently entered the breakfast hall.
"Ahh Good Morning Rosemarie."
Great, when did he get back into town?
"Old Man." I said curtly.
If he thought I was so going to get over his recent deception so easily he was sadly mistaken. The man lied to me about my mother being alive for 12 years….that isn't something you just forgive overnight.
"I see you're still sour over this business with your mother…" he replied dryly, looking at Dimitri as if he were somehow supposed to help him out.
"Don't look at him!" I half shouted. "Dimitri's on my side, not yours."
Abe looked amused by my little outburst, but didn't say anything. Instead he just held up his hands in a gesture of surrender with a chuckle.
"My apologies daughter. Of course your fiancé would side with you on this matter."
Who the hell told him?
He must have found the shock on my face comical because he laughed.
"You forget Rosemarie, Pavel may be guarding you, but he still works for me."
I shot a glance across the room at my Turkish jailer and at least he had the decency to look a little embarrassed.
"Is that what brought you back to court then Old Man?
I really didn't care what brought him back to court; I just wanted to get this conversation over with. Whatever his reasons, they were irrelevant to me. I didn't want him here and he certainly wasn't welcome.
"You didn't actually believe I'd let you face the firing squad alone did you? The Queen won't be happy when she hears about this." He said, gesturing to the sparkly new diamond on my left hand finger.
"Abe, you've been leaving me alone to face the firing squad my whole life. Besides, I'm not alone in this anymore, I have Dimitri."
His eyes grew hard at the reminder of his habitual abandonment but he thought better of trying to argue with me about it.
"Well no matter; I'm here now; for moral support….only should you need it of course."
I was just about to tell him I didn't when the trumpets blared, alerting everyone in the breakfast hall of Tatianna's arrival.
Long live the Queen B….
"What the hell was that?" I asked, slamming the door closed behind me.
I had spent the last few days bracing myself for the wrath of Tatianna and then the woman goes and offers to throw me an engagement party?
"It was creepy, that's what." Sophia chimed in, flopping down on the bed beside me.
Ivan's parents were in town looking for properties at court so Dimitri was currently busy playing shadow. Sophia had offered to go in his place, but I felt bad about monopolizing all of Dimitri's time lately.
So here we were, me, Liss and Sophia, hanging out in my guest quarters trying to decipher Tatianna's hidden agenda.
"Maybe she really is just coming around on the idea…" Lissa offered.
Poor, sweet, naïve Lissa. That girl was always looking for the best in people.
"Not likely Liss. She's definitely up to something."
"Are you going to let her throw the party?" Sophia asked skeptically.
As if I really had a choice.
"Soph, she's the ruler of the Moroi world; it's not exactly like I can say no to something like this."
The whole idea sounded horrifying. Who knew what Tatianna was really up to and I wasn't in any hurry to find out. Dimitri and I were happy and in love. I just wanted to enjoy this time as a newly engaged couple, not spend my time trying to unravel her nefarious schemes.
"Well you should say no Rose! Something about this just smells funny…"
I knew Sophia was right, but what choice did I have?
The Queen had made her wishes clear, and the best we could do now was prepare for the worst…
Dimitri's Point of View
"Guardian Belikov, I hear congratulations are in order."
We were currently walking around a newly renovated townhouse at court with Ivan's parents.
"Thank you Lord Zelekos."
I still was uncomfortable discussing my personal life with other people, but I suppose if I planned on marrying a Royal Moroi, I'd better get used to added attention.
"Lady Mazur is quite beautiful; you certainly are a lucky man. Tell me…how does her father feel about all this?" Ivan's father continued to prod.
I tried not to take offense; I knew it was a valid question.
Part of me couldn't help but wonder how he would feel if he knew about Ivan and Sophia.
"Prince Mazur has been quite welcoming actually. He fully supports Rose and my decision." I told him, hoping that would be the end of it.
But it wasn't.
"Well that's good. And here I thought he was still holding out hope for Rose and the Queen's nephew. Did you hear he's back at court now?"
I hadn't heard and I wasn't happy to hear about it now.
I knew it was silly to even be worried about it. Rose and I were engaged now. We loved each other and were committed to this marriage. Adrian was no longer a threat to me, but that didn't mean I wanted the guy hanging around.
"Dad, stop being such a gossip!" Ivan chastised, coming to slap him gently on the back. "Besides, Adrian's got nothing on Dimitri, trust me. One look at Rose and D together and you'll see why."
Ivan looked between his parents smugly and winked.
It was times like this is was truly grateful to have such a good charge and friend.
"Don't worry about them" Ivan told me later when we were alone.
As pleasant as his parent's had tried to behave this afternoon, their disapproval had been clear. They no more approved of a Dhamphir/Moroi marriage than anyone else. Too bad they didn't know there might be one in their future as well.
"Are you ever going to tell them about Sophia?" I asked, not really sure myself on where Ivan stood about that. I knew he was crazy about her, that much was obvious.
He looked at me slightly guilty before he answered.
"Does it make me a terrible person if I want to wait until I get my trust fund? I mean I graduate in 3 months, and after that they can't touch me."
I laughed a little at his logic, but it made sense...
Later that night as Rose drifted off to sleep; I couldn't help but recall the last conversation I'd had with Eric Dragomir. It was just before I left the academy and it had been weighing on my mind quite a lot lately.
*Flashback*
I was waiting on the tarmac when Eric Dragomir had pulled up. I knew how close he was to Rose, and I looking at him now was just another reminder of the woman I was so foolishly leaving behind.
I tried to turn away and direct my attention else but when he started walking over it was clear he had come here to see me.
"You're making a mistake Dimitri."
I was completely shocked, by the words and the lack of formality.
Eric was a prince and the last patriarch of the Dragomir line. He was a good man, a kind man, and in the I'd come to know him I had grown to respect him as well.
Like Rose, he didn't treat Dhampirs like manual labor, he treated us like people, and something told me he'd played a part in shaping Roses world views.
"I know you think she's better off without you, but she's not. Take it from someone who knows Rose, this will only hurt her more. That girl has suffered enough for one lifetime….please don't do this."
I wanted to tell him he was wrong, I wanted to deny that there was anything between us. But that wouldn't have made any difference. One good look at him and I could tell he'd never believe it.
"Prince Dragomir, after everything that happened in Spokane, how can you still believe that? Mason died because of the complications my life brought into hers. She'll never say as much right now, but we both know she'll grow to resent me for that."
Eric shook his head at me the way an adult would a small child.
"If you really believe that, then you don't really know Rose at all…She's stronger then you're giving her credit for her, and if you stick around you'll see that."
I wanted to believe him, more than anything. I was standing on this tarmac wishing something, anything, had the power to change my mind, but nothing could, because this wasn't just about Mason. It was about Adrian and the life Rose was supposed to have. The life she would have once I was gone.
"She'll be better off without me Sir. What kind of life could I possibly give her? I'm a Dhamphir, she's a Royal Moroi. Being with me would only complicate things….she deserves more than that."
Eric looked deeply into my eyes before he answered.
"She deserves love son. And if you don't really feel that way then by all means, get on that plane. Go back to Russia and start your life over without her. But if you love her son, if you truly love her, then stay. Stay and fight for her, and show her that she's worth fighting for. I guarantee you'll regret it if you don't."
He didn't stick around to wait for my answer, and maybe if he had things would have been different. But he got back in his car, and the moment he was out of sight, his words lost some of their earlier conviction. All my previous fears and doubts crept back to the surface and when the plane doors opened, I made the biggest mistake of my life; I got on that plane.
*End Flashback*
I hadn't stayed to fight for her then, but I would fight for her now.
Eric had been right all along, and not a day has gone by when I haven't regretted that terrible decision. I'd wasted two years of my life without Rose; two years we could never get back...
I knew how people felt about this marriage and I was under no illusions that anyone would ever really accept this. But I'd made the biggest mistake of my life letting go of Rose once, and as I looked at her beautiful sleeping form next to me, I knew I'd never make the same mistake again.