When I woke up the next morning, it was earlier than I expected. I rolled over and looked at the clock to see it was around four. I groaned and rubbed my eyes. I thought about waking Adrian and telling him to get ready so we could leave, but instead, I let him sleep. I rolled out of bed, and walked into the kitchenette. I plugged in his coffeemaker and made a pot of coffee. The only creamer he had was a month out of date, but I took a chance with it, pouring it into my cup, along with a bunch of sugar. I wasn't ever a coffee drinker, but if it keeps me awake a little longer, I'd try anything. It wasn't long before I heard Adrian's door open, and looked up to see him stumble out, still half asleep. He had bed head, which I found quite adorable this morning.
"I'm glad to see you took the 'make yourself at home' thing to heart." He said, his voice still thick with sleep. I would never admit it out loud, but he sounded super sexy when he'd just woken up.
"Yeah, I did. There's coffee left if you want some." I said. He nodded and stumbled into the kitchen, pouring himself a cup. He sat down at his counter across from me, and looked up to meet my gaze.
"So, no nightmares last night?"
"None, thank God. I was kind of expecting them" I admitted. He smiled.
"I'm glad you didn't have any though. Maybe that means you're getting better?"
"I hope so." I told him. I downed the rest of my coffee before putting my cup in the sink. "Remind me to wash and reset that before we leave."
"Don't worry about it. They come service my room every time I leave. They'll clean it." He assured me. I said okay, but I planned on doing it anyway.
"I'm going to go get a quick shower before we leave." I told him. He nodded. I grabbed my bag and took it into the bathroom, washing my hair and throwing it up in a bun. I got dressed and did a little bit of make-up, before walking out.
"I've never met a girl who can go into a bathroom for ten minutes and come out looking as beautiful as you." He said. I rolled my eyes at him.
"Thanks." I muttered. "Go get ready, so we can get out of here." He chuckled and nodded, before walking into his bathroom. I washed and cleaned the coffee pot, and found a box of stale cookies, and munched on them before he came out. He chuckled.
"Hungry?"
"A little." I admitted. He smiled.
"We'll stop and get something when we leave here." He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a phone number, before he started speaking. "I need someone to come carry our bags to the van." He said, before hanging up. I rolled my eyes. We could have very easily carried the bags in two trips. Regardless, they showed up and carried our things down to the van.
"You ready?" He asked.
"Yeah, I suppose." I told him, before walking out the door. We got half way down the hallway before he stopped.
"Wait… I should probably go tell my Aunt good-bye. I promised her I wouldn't leave without telling her." He said. I stood there.
"You go, and I'll just meet you at the van. I think I can skip the family good-byes." I told him. He nodded.
"I'll be out in a few. Just don't leave without me." He said. I chuckled. He had all the money. I wouldn't get very far without him, and he knew that. He wasn't really worried about me leaving him behind. I started down the stairs, and into the lobby of court. I was going to wait there, but decided I'd been in here long enough. There were memories here, memories I didn't want to think about. I took one last look around, before walking out the front doors. It was in that moment that I wished I'd stayed inside. I'd taken five steps out, when I looked up and saw him. This couldn't be right. He wouldn't follow us, would he? How did he-. I cut the thought off. It was obvious Guardian Young had called him.
"Rose…" He said, his voice carrying to me on the wind.
"What are you doing here?"
"Isn't it obvious why I'm here?" He asked.
"No, it isn't….so I'm going to need for you to explain. I left you at the estate, where I'd never have to deal with you again. Why would you follow me?" I demanded. I was angry, not necessarily that he was here, but the fact that he'd been called here. Someone had ratted on me, and of course I was going to take that anger out on him.
"I told you I wasn't going to let this go."
"And I told you that you had no choice. Dimitri, we can't do this. This is over. You need to understand that. Move on with your life. Find someone older, prettier, and stronger. I'm just a teenage girl." I told him.
"You are so much more than that, Roza and you know that." He said.
"I'm not meant for you, Dimitri." I whispered. It hurt me to say that out loud, especially when I'd always believed I was meant for him.
"You're wrong." He said. That's when I lost it.
"And what if I am meant for you? What then? You lose your job. You go to jail for statutory rape. Then, I'm left here. I'd never be able to guard Lissa. I'd finish out school, and what? Become a useless guardian who sits around and does nothing? Do you think I could honestly deal with that? Especially when I have a reputation to uphold being a Hathaway? This relationship will go nowhere, Dimitri and you need to admit that to yourself." I said. I was ranting. My voice rose every time I finished a sentence until finally, I was screaming.
"I can't, Roza and you need to realize that. I've been married before. I've thought that I was in love before, but that was nothing compared to what I feel with you. I don't care if I get put in jail. I don't care if I lose my job. The risk of losing all of that would be worth it to be with you. It would only be a problem until you turned eighteen and that's only a few months away. I could hold on until then, and you could too if we just tried." He told me. I shook my head, having a hard time keeping a hold of any kind of composure. I wanted to sprint headlong into his arms, and never let him go, but I just couldn't.
"It isn't even worth it now, after everything we've lost." I whispered, looking away.
"It is worth it. All of this, everything we've already been through, I'd do it all again if it meant I got to keep you forever." He murmured. The look of pain and pleading in his eye was almost heart breaking. I shook my head and looked away. Looking into his eyes was making it harder and harder for me to say no.
"There is no such thing as forever, Dimitri." I murmured.
"Roza, please… I'm begging you. Just come back. We'll figure it out back at the estate, but please… just come home." He said. For the longest time, I felt like I'd never really had a home, and when I did, it was with Lissa. Where ever she was, that was home, but ever since I'd been forced to leave her… Home had been where ever Dimitri was. It didn't matter if we were at the estate, or at court, or hell… even out in the woods somewhere. When I was with him, I was home. It was the only other time I'd ever felt that way.
"Who told you where I was?" I asked.
"I guessed." He told me. I saw his eyes flicker away from me for a split second. I knew he was lying.
"Who told you?" I asked him, my voice harder this time.
"Tatiana called me. She told me you were here with Adrian and she wanted me to come get you." He said. I'd known she was up to something. I wasn't an idiot.
"She doesn't like me around Adrian."
"She thought you two were-." I cut him off.
"And she'd never want that for her great nephew. It's nice to know she thinks so high of me." I muttered. I shook my head. "Fuckin' royals. They ruin everything."
"I was going to come after you one way or another. I just… I just really want you home." He said, simply. I took a deep breath, knowing what the next words would cause, only because I meant them.
"Home is where you are." I admitted. His head snapped up to look at me. He took two steps forward, and stopped.
"Roza…" He murmured.
"Dimitri… I don't know what to do anymore. I love you, and that much is obvious, but… what does this mean for us? For us as individuals. We could lose everything. You'd lose the estate, your job. I'd lose my chance of guarding-." I slowly stopped, not able to say it out loud. I couldn't think of it. Being Lissa's guardian was so ingrained into who I was; I couldn't bear the thought of it not becoming my reality one day. Would I be willing to risk that? Risk what I'd worked so hard all my life for, for the man that I loved? I didn't know, but what I did know, is I couldn't imagine my world without him in it. Even though I walked away, and planned on never looking back, I'd always love him. Actually, I had a feeling that somewhere down the road I would have found my way back to him. A love like Dimitri and I have isn't just easily ignored. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't know what to do. I hate that you make me question everything I once wanted, Dimitri. It kills me that I have to choose." I whispered.
"I just need you to trust me. We'll make it. If you believe anything, you have to believe that much."
"I'd like to believe it, Dimitri…" I said.
"Just come back… please." He said. It was then that Adrian busted out of the front doors. It was obvious he was running from someone.
"Rose…" He said. Three guardians then busted out behind him. I quickly pushed Adrian behind me, shielding him.
"What's going on?" I demanded.
"He was ordered to stay put by the queen, and he left against her wishes." One of the guardians snapped at me. He tried to step forward and grab Adrian, but I pushed Adrian back, still holding my ground in front of him.
"You're not going to touch him." I growled.
"Queen's orders." Another guardian said.
"I don't give a shit whose orders they are. You're not going to touch him." I snapped.
"Rose… just let them-." Dimitri started.
"Shut up." One of the guardians tried to push me out of the way, so when I swung and punched him in the face, they all tried to jump me. That's when Dimitri jumped in, defending me. It was complete and total chaos all because of Tatiana. After what felt like an eternity of kicking the shit out of three guardians, Tatiana walked out.
"What is going on out here?" She demanded. Everyone froze. I was still crouched down in attack mode. I was ready for anything.
"Adrian disobeyed your orders, so we were coming to retrieve him when this NOVICE here decided to step in on his behalf." He put a lot of emphasis on the word novice. It was funny how he made it clear I was a novice, but he still couldn't get past me.
"How noble of you Ms. Hathaway." Tatiana said. "And Guardian Belikov, I see you stepped in as well." Dimitri bowed before speaking.
"I'm sorry your majesty. Your guardian here put his hands on my novice." He said, apologetically. I wanted to yell at him for apologizing for standing up for me. I knew he was just trying to keep us out of trouble though.
"I see. Gentlemen, stand down. They're not a problem." Tatiana told her guardians. It was then Guardian Young walked out.
"Is everything alright here?" He asked. He then looked up to find Dimitri, Adrian and I. I could tell he wished he hadn't walked outside.
"Yes, Guardian Young. Everything's fine." I told him. He raised an eyebrow at me.
"Guardian Belikov, I'm going to have to ask you to accompany Rose off my property immediately. Adrian, get back inside." She said. Adrian and I both said no at the exact same time. "I'm sorry… Ms. Hathaway, you don't have much of a choice, and Adrian… I am your aunt and your queen and you will not defy me." She said, voice monotone.
"He's just as much of a royal as you and has the right to make his own decisions." I snapped at her.
"Belikov, get her out of here… now." She snapped at Dimitri. Dimitri grabbed me, trying to pull me away from her. I grabbed Adrian.
"Do not stay here, do you understand me? Come back to the estate." I told him. His eyes fell on me, and back to his aunt. I fought against Dimitri.
"Roza, stop. Just come on." Dimitri said.
"I can't leave… My stuff is still in his room." I told him. Tatiana turned to Guardian Young.
"Retrieve Rose's things from Adrian's room and load them into the van." She said. He nodded once, but frowned as he turned to go inside. I knew he didn't like listening to her.
"This is bull shit." I screamed, allowing Dimitri to pull me away from the group. "Adrian… don't do this."
"I'm not staying here, Tatiana."
"You'll do as I say, or I'll have you locked up. I don't want you with that… that girl. She's a bad influence on you. She's a dhampir. You're royal. You're a prince, Adrian. I won't have you in cahoots with a guardian."
"Oh, you're going to have me locked up… You know like you have the rest of our family trapped here like your own slaves? You're going to do that to me too huh?" Adrian snapped at her. Tatiana recoiled like he'd hit her. I'd like to hit her.
"We're not discussing this. Get inside." She said, her voice slightly. He shot me a look behind him, before walking in, her and her guardians following behind him. The guardian I'd punched in the eye, was now holding his face. I started running towards the door, when Dimitri grabbed me, holding me back.
"What are you doing, Rose? She's the queen. You're going to get arrested."
"I don't care; do you see how she treats him like he's nothing? I have to go in there and-." He shook his head, holding me tighter.
"And do what? Hit the queen, get arrested for treason? Then what, Rose? How does that help anything?" He demanded. I pulled myself out of his hold.
"How does sitting here help anything either?" I snapped.
"Rose, you're upset and I get that, but you need to calm down and think rationally." He said. I snorted, and shook my head.
"When have I ever thought rationally?" I demanded. It wasn't long before Guardian Young and another Guardian brought my things out, and loaded them into the van Dimitri had driven here. Guardian Young walked over to us.
"You guys alright?" He asked.
"We're fine." Dimitri said. I sighed, and ran a hand through my hair.
"Rose?" Guardian Young asked. I gave him the best fake smile I could conjure up.
"I'm just fuckin' peachy." I said.
"Rose!" Dimitri scolded me. I rolled my eyes which caused Guardian Young to laugh.
"She's fine." He said. Dimitri sighed and shook his head. "Did it turn to blows out here?"
"It did for a few minutes. Her damn minions in there." I said, cutting of Dimitri before he could answer. Guardian Young laughed.
"We need to get you out of here." Dimitri said.
"I'm not leaving without him."
"Yes, you are. Rose, that's his aunt. This is his home. You can't make him leave." Dimitri told me.
"He doesn't want to be here, Dimitri. How do you NOT see that?" I demanded. He sighed.
"We can't help him, Rose."
"It's better that you go now, Rose. He may have a better chance of getting out if you're not here." Guardian Young told me. I realized he was right. If Tatiana knew I wasn't out here, or in the area waiting for him, she might let him leave. I knew he was right. I knew he wouldn't be able to leave the guardian's sights if I was still around.
"Fine..." I muttered. It was then I realized I'd have to endure a two day car ride alone… with Dimitri. I could only see this ending badly. Joy. Dimitri shook hands with Guardian Young, before walking to the driver's side of the van. I smiled at him.
"See you around." I said. He chuckled.
"Stay out of trouble, Hathaway." It was then he happened to look down at my hand. He spotted the ring, and his eyes went wide. "How did you-?" I raised an eyebrow.
"You knew he was going to give it to me?" I asked. He nodded.
"I knew, but then… when he died…I didn't think-." He trailed off.
"I knew he was going to give it to me. I read it in his journal. Then when we killed him… it was still in his pocket. I took it. I knew he would have wanted me to have it." I said. He smiled.
"I'm glad you were able to find it. He'd be glad to have you wearing it."
"I know. Thank you, Guardian Young." I murmured. He chuckled.
"You can call me, Eric. Really… I hate titles." He admitted. I smirked.
"Alright, Eric. I'll see you around." I said, before getting into the van. I was angry to be leaving Adrian behind, but I knew he had no hope in hell of getting out of there while I was here. When we pulled out of the courts gates, I knew there was no going back. I was going back to the estate, back to the miserable life of pretending I didn't feel something for the person I was absolutely in love with. I sighed, and leaned my head against the window.
"You haven't said much." He murmured.
"There isn't anything to say."
"There's a lot to say actually, and we've got two days to say it before we can't anymore, so if there's anything you'd like to tell me… now would be the time." He said.
"I don't have anything to tell you, or anything to really say. What more can I say that hasn't already been said?" I asked him. He didn't reply. We lapsed into silence until he finally turned to me.
"Did something happen between you and Adrian when you left?" He asked. I didn't look at him. I continued staring out the window.
"What do you mean?"
"Were you two-?" He was trying to be subtle in asking me if I'd slept with him. It actually made me laugh, which I think pissed Dimitri off a little bit. If he thought I'd sleep with someone, just two days after I'd slept with him, it was obvious to me he didn't think very highly of me. After I thought about it like that, it kind of pissed me off too.
"Wow, I'm glad to know you think so highly of me too. Wanna just go ahead and call me a blood whore while you're at it?" I asked. He sighed.
"Roza, I wasn't trying to-." I cut him off.
"It doesn't matter. Forget it." I muttered. His grip on the steering wheel tightened, causing his knuckles to turn white. I stared out the window for a minute, not saying anything, before I finally spoke again. "No, I wasn't having sex with him." I finally said, my voice barely audible.
"I wasn't trying to be rude, when I asked… I was just-." He started.
"It isn't a big deal. Just forget it." I told him. The van lapsed into silence once again. Atleast until he decided that we were stopping at a hotel to sleep for the night. Suddenly, my heart was pounding, and I knew exactly why. Tonight, was going to be interesting.
A/N: Hey guys, haven't done a note in awhile, so I figured I'd say thank you for hanging on this long. I'd really like to get this story to a thousand reviews. I've got one other story that reached a thousand, and it's made me aspire to hit a thousand on another one, so if you guys could share this story with your friends, post it on your social networking sites, that'd be awesome too. Thanks for tagging along, and I hope you're enjoying Walk on Water or Drown!