A thousand thoughts raced through Adrian's head, the primary one being 'oh fuck'. He was about to be kidnapped. God, he hoped Tatiana would pay the ransom. Surely she would, he was her favorite family member. His captor pulled him up against their body and his mind froze for a moment, analyzing what he felt behind him. It was definitely a feminine figure. He hoped his captor was at least attractive. Would he be taken to a more private location so she could ravish him?

His attacker spun him around, her hand still clasped tightly over his mouth. His eyes widened in shock when he saw who stood before him. Guardian Petrov glared at him for a moment then leaned close to whisper in his ear.

"I'll move my hand, but you better not make a sound. Is that clear?"

He was tempted to lick her hand, knowing her initial reaction would be to jerk it away from his mouth. He refrained from doing it, because he had a feeling she'd smack him. Instead he simply nodded once, indicating his agreement.

Slowly she removed her hand, dragging him backwards, further away from Rose and Belikov. After several yards she stopped, her voice harsh, even though it was still a whisper.

"What the hell were you doing back there?"

Shit. He realized she'd probably been trying to catch Belikov and Rose. When he'd used his compulsion on her at the resort he had blacked out—apparently it hadn't set in properly. She still remembered her prior suspicions which meant he'd have to do it all over again. If Rose got caught, she might be sent to another school—one without a spirit user, so he'd have no legitimate reason to follow after her. He glanced around, cursing as he realized he couldn't do it here, not effectively. Belikov might have heard then moving through the underbrush—he could be coming to investigate the noise.

Grabbing her arm he stared at her, focusing his will and shoving it into her mind. "Alberta, you need to come to my room. Meet me there in… an hour." He'd need at least that long to let the last drink he'd had work its way out of his system. What he was doing now was a relatively small compulsion—he could easily do it with a buzz. To completely wipe things from her mind would take a lot more focus than he was capable of performing at the moment.

"Don't do anything about Rose until after we've had our meeting. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir." Her eyes looked glazed. Good, that meant it was working.

"I'll see you in an hour." He crept away, trying to be as silent as possible, wondering why in the hell he was the one who had to fix everyone else's fuck ups.

By the time a gentle knock sounded on the door, Adrian was well and truly sober. Ushering Alberta into the guest room that had become his living quarters, he guided her to the couch, smiling all the while. He'd spent the better part of the last hour drinking black coffee and trying to determine the best way to go about finding out how much the woman knew about Rose and Belikov's 'mentor-ship'.

"How have you been, Alberta? He leaned towards her, trying to catch her eye.

"Fine Lord Ivashkov. What was it you wanted to see me about?"

Well, that was abrupt. He stared more intently at the older woman, irritated that she kept flicking her eyes away from him. His hand shot out, grasping hers and—there. Got her. He sighed, glad that no more pleasant chit chat would be needed.

"How would you describe the mentor-ship between Rose and Guardian Belikov?"

Her eyes lost focus. "Very professional."

Adrian smirked at the monotone sound of her voice. God he was good at this. Apparently his compulsion had worked at the lodge. Maybe she had just been patrolling the grounds before.

"Anything else? Do you have any other feelings about it?"

"No."

"Alright then. In the future, if you have any other opinions about Rose and Belikov, I want you to immediately come tell me. Do you understand Alberta?"

"Yes Lord Ivashkov."

"You can go now." Relaxing, he reclined on the couch, pulling back his compulsion. She needed to hurry up and leave so he could have a drink. He hated sobriety with a passion, especially right after using spirit.

She was almost to the door when she spoke again—what she said shocked the hell out of him.

"They do make an adorable couple, don't they?" She smirked, winking at him.

Adrian jerked upright so quickly that he almost fell off the couch. She crossed her arms across her chest, her lips twitching.

"Compulsion doesn't work on me, Ivashkov. It never has."

Her words rendered him absolutely speechless. Shit. What the hell—

"Stop gaping at me like an idiot." She sank back down on the sofa with a heavy sigh. "I've known Rose her entire life. She's the closest thing I'll ever have to a daughter."

Alberta rested her head against the high back of the couch, closing her eyes. "She was an extremely unhappy little girl, and that didn't change as she got older, although she did learn to hide her unhappiness better. Since she's become… involved with Dimitri, that's changed." She paused for a moment, frowning. "For the most part, anyway. He's changed too. He's… come alive. He used to resemble one of the dummies we use to practice staking. I actually caught him humming the other day."

Adrian tore his eyes away from the older woman, wandering over to the small kitchenette. Grabbing a bottle and two glasses he returned to the couch, pouring them each a double shot of vodka. Alberta eyed the glass for a moment then downed it.

"Nothing's really going on between them, you know." He smiled at her, hoping his natural charisma might work, since compulsion was obviously a bust.

"Do I look like a complete fool? They're like a couple of love sick kids, always mooning over each other. When she went missing, Belikov was practically broadcasting his feelings. He confirmed everything I's suspected without saying a damned word."

"When did you realize—"

Her unladylike snort cut him off. "As soon as Rose and the Princess were returned to the Academy. Before that, Dimitri barely said two words to anyone—and he never spoke voluntarily. When we were in Kirova's office that day he jumped into a conversation that was none of his business—he was actually pretty abrupt to the headmistress, which was shocking in and of itself. If he hadn't interfered—hadn't taken up for Rose—she wouldn't be here today. I knew then that something about her… affected him."

Alberta grabbed the bottle, pouring herself another drink. "He started trading his shifts with the other Guardians so he could—what was it he said? 'Monitor her behavior in class'."

Adrian bit back a smile as Alberta made dramatic air quotations to emphasize her meaning. The woman had a quick wit.

"Rose… well she wasn't quite so easy to read. I think it took her awhile to actually realize she had feelings for him." Alberta rolled her eyes.

"So you're not going to turn them in?"

She arched an eyebrow at him. "No. As long as they're discreet and keep their training sessions professional, I don't care what they do. She's almost eighteen. Hell, she's been making her own decisions for most of her life. They're good for each other. Belikov needs to realize it and do something about it, before someone else steals her away." She narrowed her eyes, studying him. "You still haven't told me what you were doing out there."

Adrian felt his cheeks flush. "I was waiting to interfere if they started to get… romantic."

Alberta set her glass down on the coffee table with a bang. "I figured it was something along those lines. This conversation never happened, Ivashkov. If you tell anyone I know about them, I'll deny it. Thanks for the drinks."

He escorted her to the door, stopping her on the threshold with a hand on her muscular arm. "I'm sorry—for what I tried to do. The compulsion."

Her lips turned up in a wry grin. "Don't worry about it. It was pretty funny, the way you tried to sweet talk me into doing what you wanted when we were at the resort. You have a remarkable talent for spreading bullshit, Lord Ivashkov."

He frowned, hurt by her words. "You offend me. I meant every word I said. You're a beautiful woman, Guardian Petrov. It's a shame you don't seem to realize it."

She stared at him, frowning slightly for a moment before bursting into an absolutely radiant smile. It knocked twenty years off her age and made her seem like a completely different person. He could see a glimpse of the girl she had once been, and it made him smile in return.

"Thank you. That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me. You're not so bad yourself. She opened the door, still smiling. "Stay out of the bushes, Lord Ivashkov. I'd hate for someone to mistake you for a strigoi and stake you."

Adrian chuckled as she walked away, pleased to see her swaying her hips in a Rose-like fashion as she strolled down the hallway. It was amazing how a few kind words could brighten someone's day. He only wished that someone—like Rose—could be bothered to throw a few thoughtful words his way, every once in a while.