"So I had an interesting chat with Tasha yesterday," Lissa said. It was 7 pm in Pennsylvania, and Liss was lying on her bed. She was already dressed and ready for school, so she'd taken a chance I'd be free to chat.
It was 5 pm here, and I'd just come back from a hike to the cabin and was hiding in my room. In other words perfect timing.
"Oh? What about?" I tried to keep my voice interested and polite. While I couldn't stand scar face, she was still Christian's aunt and the closest thing my best friend had to a mother-in-law. I knew it would piss Lissa if I dissed her.
"She's been so moody ever since I arrived," Lissa confessed. "At first I thought it was me, but Christian spoke to her, and she said it isn't. Anyway, yesterday I found out what it is! She's got a thing for Guardian Belikov, and she wants me to request a different second Guardian when I graduate so he can guard her instead."
I'd never been so glad the bond was one way because Lissa would shout at me for a month for using the sort of language I was thinking about Tasha just then. Seriously couldn't that woman just give up?
"Wow. That's a big ask," I said as neutrally as I could.
"I know, but she really likes him," Lissa said with a sigh. "I wouldn't want to stand in their way if that's what they want…"
"Ask him," I butted in.
"Pardon?"
"It's his life and work, too. He deserves a say," I said with a little more force than was probably necessary.
"Oh, I will of course," Lissa assured me, recognizing I was unhappy with the idea. "And I wanted to get your thoughts on it, too. I know you work closely together and I wouldn't change out your guarding partner without discussing it with you."
I calmed down a little.
"So you haven't said yes?"
I knew it was wrong, but I needed a read on this, so I slipped into her head and probed a bit. No, she hadn't said yes, but she'd been contemplating it. However, my reaction had made her appreciate she needed to consult Dimitri before making any decisions.
"No. I said I'd think about it," Lissa admitted. "I guess I'd only thought about it from Tasha's point of view. You're right – I need to check it's what Guardian Belikov wants, too."
"It would be the kind thing to do," I told her. "Guardians don't always get a lot of say in where they work, but he's been good to both of us. Would you let him guard someone else if that's what he wanted?"
"Well I'd be sorry to see him go, but as you said – he's been good to us, and I wouldn't want to force him to stay if he wanted to guard someone else."
I smiled. Hopefully, Lissa would still feel the same way when we asked her to release Dimitri so he could guard Christian.
"So how's fire boy?" I asked, deftly changing the subject.
"Don't call him that, Rose," Lissa said wearily. "And he's ok." There was a note of hesitation in her voice.
"Out with it," I ordered. I knew when Lissa wasn't being fully honest about something.
She sighed. "It's just some of the Royals at school are funny with him. Because of his parents."
I said a word that made Lissa immediately tell me off, although I could tell via the bond she actually thought it rather appropriate given the context.
"It's not his fault. He can't help what they did!" I said crossly. I didn't usually defend Christian, but in this case, it was warranted! And I knew Lissa agreed.
"We can't wait to graduate and get away from Court. Her Majesty has confirmed I can still go to Lehigh, so he's planning on coming with me."
"Ohh! Will you live together?" I asked, my heart speeding up.
"I'm not sure. I'd like to," she said. "It would make it easier to guard us if we lived together," she justified.
"Oh stop lying, Lissa Dragomir! I've known you since you were five! You just want fire boy all to yourself, and it has nothing to do with the guarding rosters," I teased.
"Shut up, Rose," she snapped, a little embarrassed - but only because she knew I was right!
"So what's going on there? Anything exciting?" she asked, trying to divert me.
"Yes and no. Nothing I can tell you about," I said with a sigh. "Although Alto lost his cool big time yesterday at Blake," I said with a giggle. "Blake said something about Stan's age and only having two molnija and a zvezda, and Alto hit the roof! Mom had to separate the two of them."
Mom had sent them to opposite ends of the house to cool off. It had been funny as hell, and all was not yet forgiven; they'd been glowering at each other all day, much to my amusement. This living so closely together was getting to us all.
"How's it going with your mother?" Lissa queried, her thoughts going in the same direction as mine.
"Ok… She's managed to go two days without being a bitch. It must be some sort of a record."
"Can't you just try to get along with her?" Lissa suggested reasonably.
"You know me! I've been a perfect angel," I said defensively.
"Suuuuuure you have!" she laughed.
"Are you all packed?" asked a voice I'd know anywhere as its owner walked through the open door to my room.
"I am," I said, suppressing a shiver. It was Saturday morning, and we were about to make the drive to Sheridan. We couldn't check in to the hotel until 2 pm, but we were heading in early. Eddie and Meredith wanted to catch an 11 am session at the movies, and Mom was coming in the second SUV to do the grocery shopping and return to the property. Originally we were going to bring supplies back with us on Sunday, but we were running low on several critical items, so Mom and Dimitri were going to grocery shop while we Novices were at the movies.
At least that's where Dimitri thought I was going to be. Abe had replied to my text, and via a series of messages over the last week we'd agreed to meet for lunch today in Sheridan. He'd contacted me half an hour ago to confirm he'd made it into town and suggested we meet at an all day diner at eleven. I was honestly shitting myself, but since no one else knew I'd be meeting my father for the first time today, I was trying to hold it together.
"We won't be able to stay together tonight," my Russian God whispered quietly, standing close behind me. "But if we get a chance, I thought we could go for a drive? Maybe find somewhere… private?"
I shivered again. It had been too long since we'd had the opportunity for more than a quick stolen kiss. My body ached to be held by him. More, if it were in any way possible.
"I can't wait," I moaned, already imagining the things I could do to him, and the things he might want to do to me.
"Nearly half way there," he said encouragingly. It took me a moment to figure out what he meant. We'd been here almost six weeks. Another six weeks and I'd be somewhere getting ready to take my trials. A week or so after that, I'd be graduating and making my promise.
"Not long now," I said.
"Not long," he agreed.
We weren't just talking about graduation. We were also talking about the time when we could be open about being together.
I wondered whether I should tell him what Lissa had told me about Tasha still wanting him to be her guardian. He needed to know, but I didn't want to stress him out when we wouldn't have the opportunity to discuss it straight away. I'd talk to him about it tonight when we had the chance to speak privately and without interruption.
He lifted my duffel and carried it downstairs with his own, throwing them both into the rear of one of the SUVs.
"Rosemarie? Would you like to drive and I'll second today?" my mother offered, lifting her chin toward the second SUV. I'd wanted to second for Dimitri, but she'd be offended if I turned her down, so I accepted.
"Meet you out the front of the cinema?" I asked Dimitri who nodded as Eddie climbed into the passenger seat beside him. Meredith shot me an apologetic glance as she climbed in behind the guys, leaving Mom and me to drive the forty minutes alone together.
Other than the obligatory pre-drive checks, we didn't speak until I guided the vehicle onto the main road. While the road was a little windy, the curves were gentle enough and the road all but deserted.
"Elizaveta asked to speak with me yesterday," Mom said, looking at me sideways as I kept my eyes focused on the road.
"Oh?" I replied, not reacting other than gripping the steering wheel a little more tightly.
"Yes. She wanted to speak with me about an 'inappropriate relationship' she thinks is happening within the house."
"What?" I said, raising my eyebrows in what I hope would pass for incredulous surprise.
"I'm going to ask you once and once only. Is there anything going on between you and the Castile boy?"
"Eddie?!" I gasped, looking at my mother for a moment before I started laughing. "Mom I can promise you on anything you want, there's nothing other than friendship between Eddie and I."
"She says you've been taking runs and disappearing to 'chat' together a lot?"
I had to hand it to Mom, she was actually being pretty fair, and level headed about this.
"That's true. It's like I told you - he's freaked out about graduating, Mom. He was taken hostage at Spokane and again in the attack on the school. It's rattled him, and he's not sure he has what it takes to be a Guardian. I've been talking to him about it, and so has Dimitri."
"And you're sure that's all there is to it?" she asked leadingly.
"Mom, I see him as a brother, and I know he feels the same way about me," I reassured her. "I want to be there for him as he works his way through this, but if it makes you more comfortable, I'll make sure Dimitri is there when we talk, too?"
"I think that would be prudent," Mom agreed. "It hasn't escaped my notice that Elizaveta doesn't particularly like you. I get the feeling she's looking for an excuse to get you in trouble…" She was fishing.
"It's because of Artyom," I explained. "She didn't like it when he showed me attention, but now I've told him I'm not interested, she thinks I think I'm too good for him, so she dislikes me even more. It doesn't help that I'm besting her more often than not when we fight, too."
I was being modest. Elizaveta had only bettered me a handful of times over the last few weeks, and I was taking a perverse pleasure in flattening her every chance I got.
"Well, we're half way there," Mom said, echoing Dimitri's words from back at the house. "Maybe less."
"Less?"
"Other than that group of Strigoi that didn't make it this far south, there's been no sign of Strigoi in the vicinity. We'll stay until the Alchemists inform her Majesty we're no longer required, but if Strigoi haven't returned by now, it seems unlikely they'll do so," Mom reasoned. "I'll be calling Court over the weekend to let them know."
"So what happens then?" I asked curiously.
"You Novices will be sent to Academies to continue preparing for your trials, and Alto, Belikov and I will return to our usual duties."
"So St. Vlad's for Alto, and Court with Lissa for Dimitri?"
"Yes, I expect so."
"Where will you go?"
"I'm not sure. Lord Szelsky is still vacationing with family at Court. He's well protected there, so I'm not needed for the time being. I'll probably be given a temporary assignment until he's ready to return home."
I nodded in understanding. As a guardian, her life was not her own. Mom could end up anywhere.
The silence was getting awkward, so I switched on the radio, finding only a couple of stations; one playing country music and the other hits of the 80s. My Russian God would be thrilled, I thought, my lip twitching at the thought of it. Deciding 80s music was the lesser of two evils, I settled on that station, listening to a song about 'Sweet Dreams.' What surprised me was my mother humming along.
"Never picked you as an 80s fan," I laughed.
"I used to listen to these hits in my room each night when I was a girl," she said.
"Tell me about it?" I asked, trying to get anything at all out of her.
"There's not much to tell," she said. "My father bought me a portable radio for my birthday one year. Every night I'd turn it on low and listen to the 'hit parade.' I fancied myself as a bit of a singer."
"And then...?"
"And then I went to St. Christopher's and started my training to be a Guardian," she said tightly, turning up the radio to indicate our conversation was at an end.
I pulled up in front of the cinema, my stomach churning with nerves. The diner was only a few doors up from the movies, and I wondered whether Abe was already there? We'd agreed to meet there at eleven, and it was only a few minutes before then, now. I seriously wished I hadn't agreed to this.
Dimitri parked the other vehicle in a spot just up from the theatre. Eddie and Meredith piled out, followed by my Russian God. Even the way he stepped out of the car was elegant, and a sight to behold. I was daydreaming when he opened the car door for me. I climbed out of the driver's seat, passing him the keys.
"I'll meet you back here in two and a half hours," he said giving me an unreadable look. "I'll do the shopping with your mother, and then we can all grab some lunch and check in to the hotel."
"Great," I said, giving him and Mom a smile before they drove off toward the supermarket.
Eddie and Meredith were about to head in to buy tickets when I stopped.
"You guys go ahead. I want to do some shopping while you watch the movie," I lied unconvincingly.
Eddie stared at me giving me a 'really?' look.
"I'll meet you back here in a couple of hours. Enjoy!" I said, dashing away before they could ask me anything else.
Back out on the street, I quickly checked my reflection in the shop fronts. I pulled my hair out from the hair tie and rolled my shoulders, trying to stand up straight and look confident, even though I was freaking out more with every passing second. Plastering on a smile, I walked across to the diner and opened the door.
And there was my father. He was standing with two other men, trying to decide where to sit in the surprisingly full diner. I could recognize Guardians anywhere, even without seeing their promise marks, and it made sense a powerful Moroi would be traveling with at least one Guardian, even in daylight. These two looked skilled; the one with his back to me had a large number of molnija – easily twenty.
The older of his two Guardians spotted me first but said nothing as I walked across to the man who was undoubtedly my other parent.
"Abe?" I said hesitantly, his brown eyes snapping up to meet mine.
The second Guardian turned and regarded me warily, but Abe's expression was tender but nervous.
"Rose…" he whispered, his eyes exploring my face, hair and then my figure.
In person, I could see the resemblance more than ever, and apparently so could he.
"How about we take a seat?" the older of his Guardians suggested. Our impromptu staring competition was starting to attract interested looks from the humans in the diner.
"Yes, let's," Abe said, snapping to attention. There were only two adjacent booths left, both in the front window. Abe led me to one, gesturing for me to sit on one side of the table as he sat on the other. He took my hand in his as his Guardians seated themselves in the adjacent booth, closest to the door, their eyes roaming the diner the entire time.
"Thank you for coming," I said awkwardly, not knowing what else to say.
"I'd wondered… It seemed far fetched, but now I see you…" he said, still staring a little.
"Yes. I can see it, too," I admitted nervously, referring to how similar we looked.
"I'm sorry," he said pulling himself together. "It's still all a bit of a surprise!"
"To me, too," I admitted with an uneasy laugh.
"Tell me everything," he asked with an encouraging smile. "I've missed your whole life, so start at the beginning."
So I did. I didn't know why, but I trusted him absolutely, so I told him about being dropped at the Academy, growing up there, my friendship with Lissa. I told him about dying, being bonded, running away, being brought back again, about Spokane and Mason, the attack on the Academy and finally coming here on a mission.
Abe sat spellbound through my tale, interrupting only to order food for us both.
"So how did you find out I was your father?" he asked.
"Well… Have you heard of the Alchemists?" I replied.
"Yes…?" His brow furrowed trying to guess where I was heading with this.
"I broke into one of their facilities and did a computer search for the registration of my birth. They had a copy of the original forms, and Mom had listed you there as my father. Then I searched for you, and as soon as I saw the photo, I knew she was right."
"You broke into an Alchemist's facility?" Abe hissed, amusement dancing in those eyes so very similar to my own.
"Yes. But Mom can't ever find out about it! She'll have me off this mission and charged if she ever finds out!" I cautioned, albeit with a grin.
"Your secret's safe with me," Abe said with a chuckle, shaking his head at my antics.
"Enough about me… I want to know about you. Other than a couple of addresses in Turkey and Russia and your phone number I know nothing," I said, trying to build bridges with my male parent.
"What do you want to know?"
"Anything. Everything! Why don't you tell me about your background and what you do? And how you and Mom met? She's never said anything at all, other than you met in Bucharest?"
"Yes that's right," he started, playing with the chips in front of him as he started telling me his life story.
We'd finished our meals, and I was starting in on an ice cream sundae, by the time Abe got to the part about my mother.
"… so her first words to me were, 'I hope you don't expect me to clean that up? I'm here to look after one rich, indulged Moroi; I'm not going to clean up after another!'"
"Mom said that? To a Moroi!?" I demanded in disbelief. Mom was always going on about politeness and courtesy to Moroi. It was hard to imagine a time when she might have been more feisty. More like me!
"Oh yes! Your mother had quite the temper, back then, and she wasn't afraid to speak her mind," he said with a chuckle. "I used to enjoy baiting her! She was so quick to anger – it usually only took me a couple of words, and she'd be flying off the handle! Is she still like that?" he asked, looking up to see a horrified expression on my face as I stared out the window.
"I think you're about to find out," I whispered. There, standing on the other side of the plate glass, staring at Abe and me with an expression as fiery as her hair, was an incensed Janine Hathaway standing beside an almost as furious Dimitri Belikov.