DPOV

Not all change is bad. Some changes are good even if the events that lead to them were horrible.

It had been about a week since I was freed and I felt more like myself every day. I hadn't realized how my broken body had made me feel vulnerable and powerless and with it went my confidence and my identity. But as my body was healing, so was my mind, although Rose had a lot to do with that too.

At first, I hadn't been able to accept her again. I felt worthless, and I couldn't imagine her still loving me or even wanting to be with me. I thought she was simply here out of obligation or some naïve illusion I was still her Dimitri. But I should have known better. And even if I still didn't think I deserved her, I was selfishly holding on to this happiness as long as I could.

Because as much as I wanted to deny it, Rose made me happy.

She was patient but still pushed me when I needed to be pushed. I felt horribly inadequate, but her loving gaze towards me and how she saw a strong person that had endured and survived was slowly convincing me that maybe I wasn't lost after all.

Rose, the one piece of myself that Galina hadn't taken from me, was the key to getting all the other pieces back. And for the first time since I had gotten free, I was starting to see that this might bring us closer instead of tearing us apart.

And as I was lying in bed with her now, after we finally really slept together last night, I started to entertain the idea that I might claim her after all. I was still a long way off doing it. And even though she had pretty much consented before this, I would give her some time to decide if this broken version of Dimitri would be enough for her. But I was thinking of the future. I had a future. I was looking forward to the next day and the next, whereas a week ago, I was on the verge of begging for death.

She was still asleep cuddled up on my chest, naked. I recalled last night. My ribs and stamina were far from ideal for that kind of activity, but Rose had found a nice workaround, and I must say that her on top would do for now until I was strong enough to take over. But even though it hurt a little to have her pressed against me, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

It was another half an hour before she started to stir. Groggily she got up and looked at me. Her hair was wild and tousled, and the smile on her face was evidence of the satisfaction I provided her last night.

"Morning Comrade. Sleep okay, I hope I didn't squish your ribs too much."

You did, but it was worth it.

"Not at all."

I tried to keep my lie convincing, but I couldn't help the small wince when I got out of bed, and I knew Rose had caught it. But she let it go and simply shook her head.

"Come on, let's get some breakfast."

I knew Rose wasn't the same person she was four months ago either. She had aged, not in her looks, but in her eyes. Part of that was Mason and the war, but I also knew she had to make some hard decisions along the way to find me. There was also something calm about her that hadn't been there before.

When I thought she was human there was something out of sorts with her. As a hybrid, she was unruly at best, but now it was like she had grown into the person she was meant to be. Her personality was still wild and rebellious, but her energy was calm and serene. I could only imagine it was from controlling her flame.

But maybe the thing I noticed most and was the most surprising is that she seemed to be able to cook now. She cooked breakfast, and I greedily gulped it down. I could recognize some of Christian's handy work in it, and I guess she had to have picked up on something after she spent four months with him.

"I was thinking, that if you are up to it, we could maybe go to town today and see Christian and Lissa."

She asked the questions as if either way was fine with her, but I could tell she was eager to see her friend again. And honestly I didn't mind going to see Lissa and Christian. Certainly a human setting would be a nice distraction, but I wasn't sure I could face Viktoria yet. No doubt she had heard of my disappearance and my likely demise. She had always idolized me, but I was a far cry from the big brother she knew. Rose looked at me and a gentle smile graced her face.

"Viktoria went home when Christian arrived. Christian is more than enough to protect Lissa. She also doesn't know you are here. Christian's and my disappearance isn't widely known. Something Stan has been able to get under wraps in hopes that Christian won't be prosecuted as a deserter. So as far as the world knows, General Dimitri disappeared in the line of duty four months ago, and Christian and I are on a special mission."

I visibly relaxed at her words.

"I thought maybe we could get a pair of horses if you are strong enough to ride."

I chuckled. Good luck with that. I knew she was trying to spare me the flight there with her on my back. But either we walked, or we fly. Horses weren't going to work.

"Horses recognize us for the predator that we are. As a Dragon, you can't ride a horse. And I imagine that now that your powers aren't bound anymore, you can't ride one either."

I saw she was considering my words. As a Dragon not being able to ride a horse was a small inconvenience, but for a humanoid hybrid like Rose, it would hinder her movements a lot. She would have to walk or ride a coach to get anywhere that was a large distance away. But after I saw she had thought it over she smiled.

"I'd rather ride a Dragon anyway."

Then she thought of the consequences of our trip to town now.

"I mean if you aren't up to flying with me, I could walk."

She could walk, we had done it before, but it would take several hours.

I leaned and pulled her close.

"You weigh nothing Roza, If I can fly the distance, I can carry you. Besides I'd like to spread my wings, it has been a while."

Of course, my bravado was my downfall. I had made it to the edge of town with her on my back, but barely. My wings felt stiff from months of disuse, my stamina was appalling, and this short distance had me gasping for breath.

After Rose had dismounted, she patted me on the back.

"It will get better."

I smiled as I transformed and put some clothes on. There wasn't any pity in her voice, only understanding and encouragement and it was just what I needed.

We walked into town together holding hands. We sent off a clear message to the world that we were together. Some people recognized Rose and stared. It took some of them a few seconds before they recognized her. Even if they hadn't known about her transformation, somehow they could see it.

Rose let us to the palace, and we were shown inside. It wasn't until we reached Lissa's private chambers that somebody protested my presence.

Rose simply waived them off with, "He is with me, and he is Viktoria's older brother."

I didn't quite like the look on the guards' faces when Rose mentioned Viktoria. I hadn't heard anything from her time here, but apparently she had made an impression.

The guards opened the door, and Rose was immediately tackled by a slim form with a blur of blonde hair.

"Oh Rose, I was so worried. I hadn't heard from you in ages. You and Christian were just gone."

Then she got up and slapped Rose on the arm. It was meant to be playful, but I think there was some actual aggression hidden in the move.

"How could you! For months I was worried, and neither of you bothered to send me word you were still alive. I couldn't sleep or eat not knowing what happened to my best friend and my boyfriend."

I saw Rose roll her eyes as Lissa was just turned away accusing Christian and by the looks of it, it hadn't been his first time either.

I heard Rose mumble something sarcastic like Lissa had it the worst and I would have to agree. Although I knew it must not have been easy, Lissa was hardly the one to complain in present company.

"Next time Liss, when I make your boyfriend desert the military, and we go in deep silence to track Snow Dragons and rescue my lover from being tortured, I'll be sure to keep you updated."

Christian walked up to me and shook my hand, both in greeting and to change the subject.

"You look better."

"I feel better," I replied.

He led me to the sitting area, and we talked while the girls were still arguing.

"So are you sure you still want to go through with the spell?" I asked jokingly. Lissa had obviously chastised him a few times over the past few days.

But as his lips turned into a radiant smile, I had my answer.

"No doubt about it. What about you? Are you planning to make Rose a permanent thing?"

I know his question hadn't been meant to be loaded. I am sure that Christian thought me and Rose were a sure thing. But I think the lack of smile on my face told him, that that was a complicated question.

"I swear Liss; sometimes you really are a princess."

Rose sat down next to me with a humph. Lissa sat down next to Christian with a scowl on her face. But as permanent as it had seemed a moment ago, it was now replaced with a sweet and pleasant smile as she turned to me. Lissa truly was a diplomat, or a sociopath.

"Dimitri, I am glad to see you are doing well. I am sorry for what happened."

"Thank you. I am sorry it kept Christian and Rose away from you for so long."

She waved her hand in the air, dismissing my statement.

"Oh nonsense, they were right to try and find you. I am glad they succeeded."

Rose was about to get into another fit with Lissa, but I strategically placed my hand on hers in an attempt to calm her down.

"So any contact with the military yet?" I asked Christian.

He nodded.

"I had contact with Stan, they have seen a dramatic drop in engagements and most of the Snow Dragons are running back to the north. They seem to be easy pickings now that Galina is gone. I think it is over. I think we won. We won't know for sure until Tatiana gives the official call, but I think it is over."

I let go of a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding.

"Any word on casualties?"

"Minor losses, but we had predicted much worse. We will all feel the loss of friends and family, but overall it has been a successful campaign."

I looked over towards Rose. In a large part, she had been responsible for ending this war. I knew Yeva had been right to send her with me. In the fires of war, she was forced into a true soldier, and I couldn't be more proud.

"So what happens now? With you two I mean. You both have different lives, Rose here with me, and Dimitri at court."

I was liking Lissa less and less; she seemed to have an uncanny ability to hit the nail on its head. I looked towards Rose, but she had a smile plastered on her face.

"We will make it work. With Christian around, you won't need me twenty-four seven. And you'll be spending time with Christian in his home and probably court too. I know we have to figure out the specifics, but bottom line is I am staying with Dimitri. Besides, I hear that Viktoria fits right in. She could cover for me."

This sent the girls into another fit. Lissa was accusing Rose of abandoning her and choosing her new life over her old one. Christian seemed unperturbed by their shouting and turned to me.

"Do you know if Viktoria really liked it here?" I asked.

He shrugged.

"From what I hear, she loved it here. Lissa likes her a lot too. I know everyone would agree if Viktoria wanted to make this a permanent thing."

I looked over towards the girls, who seemed to be in a shouting match and raised my eyebrow.

"So why are they fighting then?"

Christian shrugged.

"I think it is their way of processing things. Women, you know."

I laughed. Not just because of the situation, but he sounded a lot like Adrian right now.

It was dark before we left to go back to the cave. Rose had promised Lissa she would be back soon and that she would visit regularly and once the dust had settled on the war, that she would return and work something out between them.

I knew Rose could never give Lissa up, but I was glad to see that she was standing up for what she wanted too.

But before that could happen, a lot had to be taken care off. As if she could read my mind Rose spoke.

"We will have to go back to court soon."

I knew she was right. For one, I needed to see my family. Somehow I was dreading that part. But I also needed people to know I was still alive. I needed to be General Dimitri the Honorable again. Somehow simply being 'Comrade' was much easier.

We landed outside my cave and silently went inside. The gloom of us having to face reality sometimes was hanging over us.

"How about we see how you are doing in a weeks' time. They managed without you for four months; they can do it for an extra couple of days."

I liked that idea. I knew a week wasn't long, but it was a good timeframe to recover, prepare myself mentally and put some pressure on. I wish we could stay here forever and just forget about the rest of the world. But as always our duties came first.

"That sounds good. But I intend to use the downtime to my advantage."

I lifted one eyebrow, and I could tell Rose was figuring out if I meant to sound dirty. I had. And with the last of my strength, I picked her up and carried her over my shoulders to our bed. She giggled the whole way until her giggles were converted to moans and 'oh my Gods.'

The next week we flew towards court. It would be pushing it a bit, but I knew I could make the flight. Rose had me training pretty hard. Between swimming, flying short distances and other amorous activities to boost my stamina, I had improved a lot over the last few days.

I even enjoyed flying again. It had been hard before to just leisurely glide across the wind when even staying in the air required all my strength. But the first half of the flight was nice. The second half was harder, and I made it just before I was about to fall out of the sky.

Of course, I couldn't let people at court know that. So I gracefully landed and transformed after Rose had dismounted. To the public, it looked like I was being polite to Rose, but in truth, I didn't have the strength to maintain my Dragon form.

Rose ignored all the staring people, and I followed her lead. It was a little quieter inside the mountain.

"So where do you want to go first. See your family, see Tatiana, or go to your room and hide and hope nobody has noticed you?"

I chuckled. I would prefer the latter, but I also realized that wasn't going to happen.

"Official stuff first?" I said, and I could see her look confused. I am sure she thought I would have picked my family first. But I knew if I went to my mother she wouldn't let me go… ever. So I might as well announce that the rumors of my death were greatly exaggerated.

The staring didn't stop all the way through to the war room. Rose talked to me pretending me being here was perfectly normal, but people were unconvinced I wasn't a ghost.

I walked into the war room, and you could have heard a pin drop. One of the older Dragons even dropped his cup of coffee. Tatiana, some older Generals and some senior lieutenants including Stan were standing around the large rock which held the map.

Stan smiled when he saw me. There was a first for everything.

"Well, I'll be damned. She actually did it."

Rose stood beside me and placed her hands on her hips in a signature Rose way.

"Oh Stan, Ye of little faith. Of course I did it."

He shook his head, but his smile remained firmly plastered on his face.

"So can either of you shed some light on recent Snow Dragon developments at the front? Activity has stopped, and most of them are running."

Rose and I walked over to map and looked at the distribution of troops on our side and the scattered pieces indicating Snow Dragons close to the border.

"I imagine they are running now that Galina is dead," Rose said.

I could see all the Dragons in the room look confused.

I heard one of them ask who Galina was, but soon the answer came in the form of that traitorous half-breed bitch, and I could see everyone remembered Galina.

"She was leading the Snow Dragons?" Stan asked, and Rose and I nodded.

"She was the one who took me. She thought that if she could break me and show that to our troops they would lose their nerve and bow down to her," I said trying to keep my voice even.

"So what happened to her?" Stan asked.

Rose shrugged.

"I killed her." She wasn't exactly boasting, she said it as a statement. But now that everyone remembered Galina, Rose stating that she simply killed her meant everyone was gawking at her. You don't just kill Galina. She was considered one of the best. Killing her seemed as unlikely to them as killing me. Rose realized her statement needed a bit more elaboration.

"She was in my way. She didn't see me coming. Snow Dragons tend to underestimate me because they consider me human. I killed a lot of them that way."

Stan took a step forward.

"Exactly how many did you kill, Rose, since you left?" Stan asked very hesitantly. I think he knew the answer, but was afraid to hear it.

Rose just shrugged again.

"A few. Christian and I tracked Snow Dragons from the northern border to the southern desert.

Stan's eyes widened a bit.

"That was you?"

"What was me?" Rose asked innocently.

"Snow Dragons were practically fleeing back across the Northern border. Something about a lethal but beautiful human girl that could make you tell her everything before she took your life. They called you the skeleton key - because you could unlock every secret. They claimed you were sent by the devil himself and carried dark magic."

I realized I had no idea what Rose had actually done in those four months. She had said she did horrible things to find me, but I had no idea what those things entailed, but if Snow Dragons made her into a legend that you run away from, I might need to ask her about it.

"They are clearly exaggerating. I mostly just got the information I needed. I always told the next victim that I could make them sing like a canary, but I was bluffing. I don't want to know anything about them. And I merely channeled a bit of heat through my blade. If they are already complaining about that, they were pussies to begin with."

That made Stan laugh, while the rest of the Dragons simply stared, gawked and took a step back from Rose. The sight was almost comical. Huge Dragons, at least ten of them, backing up from a tiny human girl. But that was Rose. She might as well have been called Rose the Lethal, or Rose the Unexpected.

"Well long story short, they are gone. And with their leaders dead, I doubt they will be coming back soon. We might need to spread the word that the skeleton key is on our side," said Stan and everyone else nodded.

"So it is really over?" I asked trying not to sound like a hatchling.

Tatiana stepped forward and held her head high. She placed her hand on the map as if claiming the piece of paper also claimed the land it represented.

"Yes, the war is over, and we were victorious. Because of you and this little hybrid."