It never ceased to amaze me how quickly bodies and minds adapted. We started the first full week of our new training regime, and on Monday night I was tired, but by Tuesday I was feeling ok, and by Wednesday my body was starting to crave the intense workouts Dimitri, with the help of Abe's Guardians, was putting us through. Don't get me wrong – I still moaned and whined and called Dimitri several unflattering things behind his back as well as to his face. But I was enjoying it, as were Eddie and Meredith.
Every day was the same. Breakfast, run, gym, morning tea with Abe when he arrived at the gym, more gym, run home for lunch and a small relax, then another run before heading back to the gym. By Wednesday the local Dhampir population had heard about us, and why we were here, and so far the response had been positive.
It probably also didn't hurt that Abe was spending money hand over fist in and around the town. I'd talked to him about it, and he explained it really wasn't a large sum for him, but he knew that in a town like Baia an injection of money at the various local businesses helped numerous families.
"You're loving being here, aren't you?" he asked.
"I am. It's wonderful to focus on this and leave my other troubles behind for a while."
"Your other troubles?" Abe asked, looking at me shrewdly.
"I'm worried about what's going to happen after graduation," I said, sitting beside Abe at the side of the gym, watching Pavel and Dimitri work with Eddie and Meredith while I took a breather.
"I hope to guard Lissa, but if Dimitri is her other Guardian, we'd always be on opposing shifts. We'd never have any time off together. We had hoped Dimitri could maybe transfer and guard Christian, Lissa's boyfriend, but the night before we left to come here he told me he knows about Dimitri and I and is ok with it, but he's not prepared to be Dimitri's charge."
Abe looked at me an eyebrow raised.
"It's because of his aunt Tasha," I explained. "She has a thing for Dimitri and has repeatedly offered for him to become her Guardian. She lives in the human world and suggested she and Dimitri could even have a family together. He's told her no, but Christian won't have him as his Guardian out of respect for Tasha's feelings."
"So what's the alternative?" Abe asked.
"Dimitri gets a job guarding someone else, and we try and line up our shifts as much as possible," I said. "But with Lissa at university part of the time and Court the rest, it's going to mean weeks or even months at a time apart. That's why being Christian's Guardian would have been perfect – they're going to Lehigh together and would be living together, too."
"What about you guarding someone else?" he suggested. "You could both take jobs at Court or an Academy?"
"We could," I acknowledged. "But I really don't want to guard anyone other than Lissa. It's what I've trained for my entire life."
"Does she know about you and Dimitri?"
"Not yet. I need to tell her, but I want to have a game plan first."
"So what does Dimitri have to say about it?"
My eyes dropped to the ground as I replied.
"I haven't told him about Christian yet. He was so excited about coming here to see his family, and everything was going so well. I didn't want to drop this on him."
"You have to tell him," Abe said.
"I know," I groaned, feeling monumentally guilty. "I will. I'll do it. Soon."
I looked up to see Dimitri walking over to us.
"You two look serious. Should I be worried?" my Russian God teased.
"No. Just telling Dad what a slave driver you are!"
The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them, and the three of us stopped for a moment. I'd never referred to Abe as Dad before. Not in front of him.
"That I am," Dimitri replied, rescuing the moment. "You've had your break – now back to it!"
"Can you do my hair, Rose?" Sonya asked later that afternoon standing in the doorway to the bedroom I shared with Dimitri. "I want it to look like I've gone to an effort but not too much of an effort," she rambled nervously.
I followed her back to her room. Kirill was due to join us for dinner this evening, and I knew that's why Sonya was so agitated.
According to Dimitri, Kirill had always had a thing for Sonya. A couple of years older than her, he'd admired her when they were teenagers. But timing had never been on their side, and then he'd moved to Omsk to start a business while Sonya had stayed in Baia, working at the pharmacy and then getting pregnant.
"I used to really like him," Sonya explained as I carefully brushed out her long, dark hair. "Back at St. Basil's I would rarely seem him around as we were in different years, but every weekend he'd be on the train. A couple of times Dimka had to stay at St. Basil's for the weekend, so Kirill and I would be on the train alone. We could talk for hours and never run out of things to say."
"So what happened?"
"I got a boyfriend, and by the time I broke up with him, Kirill had a girlfriend. And then he moved away."
"That's a pity," I replied carefully. I was just pinning Sonya's hair up in a pretty half-up, half down style, casual but pretty and feminine, when there was a knock at the door and Meredith stuck her head into the room.
"I've got those shirts," she said conspiratorially, coming in with four different shirts on hangers.
While I was friendly with all the Belikov girls, in our short stay so far Sonya had really clicked with Meredith, and the two of them were becoming fast friends.
"I like how you've done her hair," Meredith complimented. "Now I think we need some lip gloss, some mascara and one of these tops."
At three months pregnant, Sonya was only just starting to show so she'd not yet bought any maternity clothing. Her usual clothes were quite tight and fitted, so Meredith was offering a choice of hers as an alternative.
"I mean, I'm sure he knows I'm pregnant," she said, looking sad. "But I don't want to draw attention to it."
"Try on the blue one," I suggested, pointing to a lovely, floaty top of Meredith's. The second she had it on, Meredith and I crowed triumphantly.
"That's definitely it," Meredith said. "It's the perfect color on you and so feminine."
"She's right," I agreed, rummaging through Sonya's makeup bag to find the softest most natural lip gloss I could find. Applying that, and a little mascara, and she was done. There was a pretty flush on her cheeks, so she didn't need blush there.
"You look amazing, Sonya," I said.
"It's a very different look for me," she said uncertainly.
"Seriously you look great. Those jeans are perfect with that top, and all of it looks great on you!" Meredith quickly agreed.
The three of us stared into the mirror, and a pleasing smile appeared on Sonya's face.
"He'll be here any minute. Let's wait downstairs. And don't say anything about the past. He's probably just here to see Dimitri and won't even remember me."
I rolled my eyes at Meredith who responded with a smirk, but we said nothing as we followed the middle Belikov daughter downstairs.
Dimitri was in the living room chatting with Eddie and looked up as the three of us entered. He took in his sister's softer more feminine look with interest. I shot him a look that he correctly interpreted as 'tell her how nice she looks.'
"Sonya you look beautiful," he said, standing up and coming over to kiss her on the cheek.
"I don't know what everyone's carrying on about," she bristled. "It's just what I normally wear to dinner," she asserted not meeting anyone's eyes.
A knock at the door announced Kirill's arrival, so Dimitri went to let his friend in. Stepping inside Kirill greeted everyone fondly.
"Mrs. Belikova? I had a little something sent from the shop I thought you could use," he said, handing over a bag with a large box in it. Olena dutifully put it down on the table and opened the bag to reveal a toaster.
"It's the top of the line model," Kirill announced nervously. "It has ten different toast settings, can do one sided, thick and thin bread and even has delayed start and keep warm functions."
Olena gave the expected thanks, although I did wonder whether she'd ever use the thing.
If I'd thought Kirill's gift to Olena was odd, his choice of gift for Yeva was worse. He dutifully kissed each of the old lady's cheeks before proudly presenting her with a bag containing an even larger box.
"It's a foot spa," he declared, giving a brief overview of all the appliance's features and the advantages of foot exfoliation. Yeva grunted what could perhaps have been interpreted as a thanks. Everyone else managed to maintain polite smiles, although Karo had to leave the room for a moment, apparently overcome by the idea of her septuagenarian grandmother exfoliating her feet.
"Thank you that's very kind," Olena said quickly, acknowledging the earnest young man's thoughtfulness.
"Sonya," he breathed, finally addressing the young woman he'd been checking out from the corner of his eye ever since he'd arrived. "You haven't changed a bit."
She smiled and greeted him fondly, still blushing.
"I brought you something, too. It's the latest thing from America. With your pretty hair, I thought it might come in handy."
He handed over a long thin box, and it didn't escape anyone's attention that Sonya's gift was the only one that had been wrapped.
She opened the gift carefully, easing the box from the gift paper without tearing the latter, revealing a black box with gold dots on one end. I'm not sure whether Sonya immediately appreciated what it was, but Meredith and I did.
"Woah! That's a GHD!" Meredith gasped her eyes widening.
"And the gold model!" I added. While I didn't own one myself, Lissa's VIP Sephora card was testament to her beauty products addiction, so I knew all about the GHD and how it was the best hair straightener available. They were expensive enough in the US; God knows how much they were worth here.
"That's very generous," Sonya gasped, apparently understanding what it was she'd been given. "Thank you," she said, giving him a very pretty smile.
"It's nothing," Kirill said, his relieved grin belying his words.
We moved through to dinner, and I noticed again the table was laden.
"These pelmeni are delicious," Kirill praised Olena, who quickly pointed out Sonya had made them.
"A beautiful girl, and a good cook," he commented with a red face albeit a defiant look, challenging anyone to take exception to his remark.
Sonya blushed but accepted his compliment.
He was right about the dumplings – they were tasty, and I said so to Sonya. She promised to show me how to make them, and I noticed my love's pleased expression. Now I knew the basics of cooking, thanks to his lessons during our mission, I should probably take the opportunity to learn some Russian basics.
"So Kirill? Dimitri said you live in Omsk now? What do you do there?"
I'd noticed he wasn't promised, so I figured he must live in the human world.
"When I left St. Basil's I started a small import business," he explained. "Electronics and small consumer appliances. I started off with DVD players, then televisions, but now I have two full stores with every imaginable electrical device. I'm currently having the fit out completed for a third store," he said, although I noticed he was speaking to Sonya and not me. "Business is good."
The conversation moved onto other things, finally coming around to our training and our ultimate purpose in being here. Kirill promised to round up as many friends as he could to fight us next Saturday.
"I'm not promised, but I try to keep in shape. And perhaps, on Sunday, you'd be free to attend my nephew's Baptism?" he asked, inviting us all although his eyes were again on Sonya.
"Yes, Darya has already invited us. My mother, the girls and I will be delighted to attend," Olena graciously responded. And we all saw the satisfied expression on Kirill's face.
I quickly looked at Sonya and gave her a questioning look. She subtly nodded, so I gave Dimitri a meaningful look. He was confused for a moment before he got what I meant.
"Rose and I won't be able to make it," he said to Kirill. "We're having a party here on Sunday night we need to prepare for. But you're very welcome to join us for that. We're doing sashlyk and a bonfire."
"It would be my pleasure," Kirill replied – and this time it was Sonya's chance to smile.
The rest of dinner passed, and before long, Eddie, Meredith and I were doing the dishes while the others moved through to the living room, speaking Russian.
"That's going well!" I said to Meredith with a grin.
"She really likes him," Meredith said, her smile matching mine. "She told me yesterday. She didn't think he'd be interested now she's pregnant, but he seemed pretty keen to me."
"Oh come on," Eddie interrupted us. "If the guy were any more eager she'd have an engagement ring on!"
"It's a lot to take on – a woman pregnant with another guy's baby," I mused.
"Not really. Not for a Dhampir guy," Eddie replied. "You have to remember – unless he finds a Moroi girl willing to settle down and live in the human world with him, he's not going to have a child of his own. If he cares for Sonya, he might welcome the opportunity of raising the child with her."
I hadn't considered things from that perspective, but perhaps Eddie was right. Dhampir women pregnant to Moroi men was common enough, but a Moroi woman willing to settle down and start a family with a Dhampir guy was virtually unheard of.
We finished the dishes joining the others in the living room. Almost every seat was taken, so I sat on Dimitri's lap.
"Settling down suits you, Mitya," Kirill commented. "You look happy."
"I am happy," he said, his fingers toying with the ends of my hair. I'd worn it loose the way he liked it. "There comes a time in a man's life when he wants to settle down and enjoy the company of a special woman."
"I know what you mean," Kirill said meaningfully. Eddie was right – the guy was making his hopes and intentions clear, and Olena's satisfied expression made it evident I wasn't the only one to think so.
"I should be going," Kirill announced regretfully, standing. "But I'll see you at the gym, Mitya, and I look forward to seeing the lovely Belikova ladies on Sunday."
"Let me walk you out," Dimitri offered. I climbed off his lap, and my Russian God clapped his old friend on the back, walking him to the door after he'd said his farewells.
The front door closed, and I noticed Dimitri had stepped outside with Kirill. Sonya took off upstairs, probably wanting to be alone to think over the evening, and one by one the others excused themselves heading to their bedrooms. However, I waited the fifteen minutes until my man reappeared, letting himself in noiselessly through the front door.
"You were gone a while," I said as he shut off the downstairs lights.
"Kirill wanted to have a chat," he explained.
"Oh?" It was pretty clear what Kirill wanted to talk about, but I waited for Dimitri to elucidate.
"He asked my permission to court Sonya. He said he's always had a thing for her, and seeing her again now, he'd like to see if there's a chance she feels the same way."
"What did you say?" I asked nervously. I knew Dimitri was funny about his sisters, especially now Sonya was expecting.
"He's a nice young man from a good family with excellent prospects… What do you think I said?" Dimitri teased. "My life wouldn't be worth living if I sent him away!"
"Yeah, I saw your Mama likes him."
"She does. We all do. He's a kind guy, and I think he'd be good for Sonya. I just don't know if she feels anything for him."
I shook my head incredulously, rolling my eyes. For a smart guy, sometimes my Russian God was completely clueless.
"She's into him," I laughed. "Big time."
"You're sure?"
"No doubt about it."
"Well I've told him he has my permission, so we'll see," he said closing the subject.
We climbed the stairs to our bedroom. We'd be training in the morning, so we should get to bed soon, but I was feeling talkative. Eddie's comments about Dhampir guys and kids got me thinking about my talk with Yeva.
"Dimitri?" I asked as I flopped onto our bed. "If we could have kids together, would you want them?"
Dimitri paused, giving the idea thought.
"Yes," he admitted finally. "I know the chances are we can't, but if it were a possibility, I'd want to share that with you."
His eyes were on my face searchingly.
"And if we can't?" I whispered.
"If we can't we can't," he replied. "Is this about what Babushka said?"
"Yes and no. It's also something Eddie said about Dhampir guys not usually being fathers. He said Kirill might welcome Sonya's baby and be willing to raise it as his own."
"We grow up knowing it's not on the cards for us," he explained, lying beside me on the bed and rubbing circles on my hip.
"But you'd be a father if the opportunity arose?"
"Only if you wanted it, too. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Roza. If we had the chance, and you wanted to, I'd proudly be the father of your children."
I smiled. He sounded so loving.
"Well… Babushka told me it wasn't going to happen accidentally," I said with a cheeky grin. "So there's still no harm in practicing, I suppose?"
"I like the way you think, ангел," he growled, pushing me onto my back and climbing on top of me. "I'm all for practicing!"