Dimitri had brought my rocking chair outside, and I was sitting in the shade watching him, and the guys put the new roof on our cottage. The upper interior walls were in, the dormers built, new windows installed, they'd insulated every possible spot, and now the roof was being shingled. It was Sunday – the day Dimitri usually left unscheduled for R and R time, but when he'd mentioned he was hoping for a fine day so he could finally get the cottage water-tight, the guys had volunteered to help out. In fact, everyone helped in their own way.
Abe had insisted on upgrading materials from the flat to the longer lasting architectural shingles. He'd also insisted on sending Alyce over for the morning to help me prepare a lunch and a dinner to satisfy the hardworking, hungry men. She'd helped me make large platters of subway sandwiches and homemade lemonade for the midday meal and for dinner, I'd prepared a roast pork and a roast beef with baked veg. Alyce promised with a roast it was all in the groundwork – the cooking being pretty much set and forget. So now in the late afternoon, I was watching while my strong man and the crew finished off the job. The last one down the ladder, Dimitri came to stand next to me, wrapping his hot, sweaty arms around me from behind as we admired his handiwork.
"It's not ready, but it's warm and water-tight," he lovingly whispered in my ear as together we gazed at the cottage my man had rebuilt. I was twenty-six weeks pregnant and honestly had never been happier. We'd visited the Academy twice since the fires – each time relieved when our visit occurred without major incident. Tasha had not been seen or heard from, and while things were strained with Lissa and Christian, we were all trying.
And now my home was close to finished. Sure we were missing a couple of bathrooms and a kitchen, the floors had to be sanded and polished, and the entire place plastered and painted. But the skeleton was in, and I could see the start of the beautiful home it would be.
"We're done! Get cleaned up. Dinner in the dorm in forty minutes," Dimitri announced to the Guardians before turning back to me. "If you can manage the ladder, I could take you up and show you our room? And the nursery?" Dimitri tempted.
I hadn't been allowed to see the upper floor, and I was beyond keen to get a sense of the space. I nearly pulled his arm off dragging him across the new porch boards and through the makeshift front door. The downstairs I was pretty familiar with, having recently spent hours there with the interior designer getting suggestions for finishes for the floor, my new kitchen, and half bathroom. But upstairs? Well other than the sketches Dimitri had shown me, that was a mystery.
I climbed the ladder, emerging into a surprisingly large and bright landing illuminated by a large dormer window above the stairs. To the left was our room, straight ahead the bathroom, and to the right two smaller bedrooms.
"What do you want to see first, milaya? Our room or Junior's?"
"Ours," I whispered breathlessly, awed at what my man had achieved – and the love he must feel to have built all this for our little family. Stepping into our bedroom, I was surprised by its size. Even once you factored in the roof pitch and the unusable space near the eaves, the room was huge.
"I'm thinking a combination of open shelving, built in drawers and half height cupboards to make the most of the space on each side," he explained. The room took up the entire depth of the house, so standing at the double entry doors the wall straight ahead was the roof's gable so very tall in the center, while the ceiling inclined down to the right and the left becoming unusable towards the very edges.
"That would give us masses of storage," I acknowledged, honestly a little overwhelmed by everything.
"If we centered our bed here," Dimitri said gesturing to the obvious spot on the wall opposite the entry, "there'd be room on one side for a relaxing reading area and on the other side perhaps your bureau and a workspace for me too? I'm still in two minds about adding a window in the gable for even more light – but we can live in it for a while, and if you feel the four dormers don't let enough in, I can add a fifth window or some skylights." To anyone else, it would sound like my confident man discussing lighting. But I knew my Russian God was really looking for my approval.
"It looks perfect the way it is," I assured him lovingly, "but like you said – it can be added later if we change our minds."
After that, I loyally admired the space where large built in his and her closets would be built on either side of the entry door, assuring Dimitri it was more than sufficient, and a walk-in robe was not required.
Walking back out to the landing, I looked at what would be the family bathroom, linen cupboard, and laundry chute before entering one of the two additional bedrooms on this level. Each half the size of the master, the rooms were still spacious, the usable space at least double the size of my St. Vladimir's dorm room. One faced the front of the cottage, the other the back; but other than aspect, they were identical mirror images of one another. On each, the door was closest to the separating wall running along the roof's ridgeline. Beside each door would be a built-in closet running across to the lowest part of the ceiling, and each room had two dormers. The rooms were basically identical to the master, but with a wall down the middle separating them into two spaces.
"I'll do more shelves, drawers, and cupboards in these rooms, too," Dimitri promised, cuddling me from behind as I looked at first one room, then the other. "I've chalked on the floor in this one the outline of a queen sized bed so that you can get an idea of proportions. They're both a good size…"
"Dimitri?" I said, spinning in his arms to look at him. "I love them. I love the whole space! But more than anything, I love you. I can't believe you imagined then built all this for us."
"You wait until you see it finished, Roza. This is going to be the most beautiful little cottage you've ever seen!"
And I did not doubt it – because that's the sort of man Dimitri was.
"Come on my hero. Let's get you into the shower. I want to get you all nice and clean and then feed you and then take you to bed so I can show you just how much I love my cottage!"
My first roasts were a big hit. The gravy was a bit too thin, but the appearance of a chilled case of beer at the same time silenced any adverse comments. Everyone was relaxed and happy. I sat cuddled under the loving arm of my boyfriend, joining in the chatter, deliriously in love.
I knew in a day or two we'd be heading back to St. Vladimir's for the final few days of exams and my graduation, and that I'd be saying goodbye to some people possibly forever. But I was finally ready. Dimitri was my home now – wherever he was is where I needed to be.
She'd either be there, or she wouldn't. And if she were, then he'd no doubt be close by. I'd had six weeks to think about it, and I was determined. I had to tell Dimitri how I felt. He obviously had no idea I loved him. He'd not had a chance to see me. Speak to me. I was willing to bet the bitch had taken his phone and that's why he never responded to my messages. My darling needed to know I cared and that I was willing to make all his dreams come true.
Graduation was the last Saturday in May, and campus would be busy. Moroi and Dhampir families alike would be there to see their children graduate, so the place would be packed. I hadn't switched on my phone, used my cards or done anything else to enable anyone to track me, assuming anyone was even trying to. But there'd be enough people on campus who knew what I looked like.
Going to Tomas and Edwina's bedroom, I rummaged through her closet trying to put together an outfit. Edwina had beautiful taste, but I couldn't afford to wear one of her exclusive designer outfits and run the risk of her recognizing the clothing, so I dug through her wardrobe looking for items with more common tags. I finally found an unworn camel colored shift dress by a prolific maker in the back of the closet. It was simple enough I wouldn't raise any questions wearing it.
I'd have to disguise my dark hair if I wanted to get around campus, so a wig would be in order. A lot of Moroi would attend the religious service in the Russian Orthodox chapel on campus before the graduation ceremony, so I wouldn't be out of place wearing a glamorous headscarf; many of the more traditional Moroi adhering to the custom of women covering their head for Church. Combined with heavy makeup, it would be enough to conceal my scar.
Edwina wore larger shoes than I, but her pantyhose would fit, so I took a packet of those from her lingerie drawer. I didn't dare risk one of her scarves – they were quite distinctive – so I'd pick up a wig, scarf, and shoes along the way. After I'd finished in her closet, I started to go through their bedside drawers looking for money or anything else that might be helpful. It was incredible what you could discover about a person from their bedside table, I mused.
Tomas had numerous betting slips, casino chips and loose notes in various denominations in his. Not a fortune, but I pocketed around $1,200 in US dollars and a couple of hundred in Canadian notes. Enough to get me what I needed and to where I was going without using any of my cards I thought with satisfaction. Edwina's bedside was equally revealing in a different way. The top drawer contained four vibrators, several butt-plugs, a set of nipple clamps and lube. The next drawer down contained porn of a very particular type. Flipping through the well-thumbed magazines and some unusually intimate photographs, I could see that Tomas wasn't enough for Edwina. Well – at least not individually. Edwina's appetites were multiple, I concluded with a giggle.
Putting everything away, I headed to my favorite room in the house. The library. I'd been here six weeks, so the liquid refreshments were nearly depleted, and I was getting to the bottom of the frozen blood supplies, too. There'd be enough of both to get me through these last few days, but I'd head off Friday and slip back onto campus ready for graduation on Saturday. If everything went the way I hoped, I'd be back in Minneapolis by Tuesday or Wednesday starting my new life with Dimka.
I was edgy as the wheels hit the runway. I'd been a Guardian for twenty-five years now, twenty of them for Abe, and I'd learned when my gut said something wasn't right to listen to it. I looked around the plane's cabin, satisfied with the team we'd brought; Dimitri, Kirk, Fernandes, Krantz, and Jasinski were here for Rose, myself and four of the team from Russia were here for Abe.
We'd also given a lift to Guardian Schoenberg. As the former Head of the Guardian's Council, the man was legendary. It turns out he was also a friend to Belikov and Rose. When Dimitri had mentioned to Abe that Schoenberg would be traveling to the Academy a few days before graduation to supervise the combat trials, Abe was quick to make an offer for him to travel with us. Schoenberg was sharp – not much got past him. It's probably why he and Abe hit it off straight away. I didn't miss the speculative look when he regarded Rose and then Abe in succession, or Abe's subtle head shake when Schoenberg lifted his eyebrow questioningly and flicked his eyes back to Rose. Didn't take him long to pick that…
I'd briefed the Guardians to be on full alert, outlining Tasha Ozera as the primary concern. Belikov had met with the whole team, describing Tasha's mindset when she'd stalked his former charge and everything he knew about how she was likely to act. He'd also stressed that Rose was the number one priority – both her safety and keeping her calm.
"This is her last few days with her friends at the place she grew up. She's got a few exams to complete so she's already going to be stressed and emotional – I don't want anyone or anything upsetting her unnecessarily," he'd stressed.
Right now she looked happy enough. She was standing beside her seat waiting for the Guardians to take the baggage to the bus. We'd all be staying in Guest accommodations this time – Abe having booked three units side-by-side. With the Academy about to receive an influx of parents for graduation, it would be busy, but that couldn't be helped. Belikov volunteered to drive again, and in no time we were installed in our units. We'd again kept Rose's arrival under wraps, so since we'd arrived in daylight, she and Belikov had a snack and went to bed to try and transition back to Moroi time.
Meanwhile, I checked in with Alberta before the other Guardians and I took two-hour shifts patrolling campus looking for anything unusual. The worst thing is I, like Belikov, was convinced Tasha was going to act this weekend. It was just a matter of when.
It was Wednesday, and I had my second last exam. Animal Behavior and Physiology. The test was in the afternoon Moroi time, so I was well rested. Dimitri was paranoid about my security and insisted Kirk and Krantz plus himself accompany me. Again I walked in just as the exam was about to start, and since we hadn't left our quarters since I'd arrived, I once again surprised my classmates. All my study had paid off. I was confident with my answers, even adding extra detail to some parts. When the bell rang, I sighed in relief putting my pen down. I had tomorrow off before my last exam for Bodyguard Theory and Personal Protection Four on Friday, and then I'd be done.
I could feel elation but also fear through the bond – this had been Lissa's last exam. She had the next few days to pack and then after graduation she'd be leaving St. Vladimir's for good. It was with a start that I realized I had no idea precisely where she'd be moving to. In the past, I would have been across every detail – but not anymore. Without me, and with Christian wrapped up in worrying about his missing aunt, she was feeling very alone.
I called Dimitri over with a single look.
"Comrade? Lissa's freaking out – I'd like to spend some time with her tonight. She's going to be leaving St. Vlad's in a few days, but she has no family or anything to go to. I promise I won't tell her anything about where we are or what we're doing, but she's still my friend…"
"Of course, Roza – you don't need my permission. Why don't you see if she's free? If you can I'd prefer to keep you away from public spaces like the cafeteria, but maybe she'll need a hand packing her room?" he suggested. I kept forgetting as her former Guardian, Dimitri had been in her room and knew how much stuff Lissa had!
I walked over to her, giving her a big hug.
"Congrats on your last exam!"
"Thanks! I wasn't sure if you'd be here."
"Yep. Here until graduation," I said, knowing there was no point hiding it. "You meeting up with Christian or do you have time to hang out?"
"Christian's got his Culinary Science prac. exam tomorrow," she said with a hint of relief. "So I have the night free."
"Did you want to hang out? The Dhamps have their trials tomorrow, so I won't bother Eddie, Mase or the girls, but we could go back to your room, and I could help you pack?"
"That would be a Godsend! I've been trying, but not made a lot of progress," she admitted. The two of us walked back to her room. Our relationship wasn't the same as it was, but it was better than it had been for a while. And for now, that was enough.
"So where are you moving to?" I asked after she'd unlocked her door and Dimitri and Krantz checked the space thoroughly before leaving us to our own devices. I knew Krantz and Kirk would be guarding outside the door.
"Well Uni doesn't start until September, so for the first three months, I'm going to live in the Dragomir townhouse at Court. Christian's going to come too. He can't get in touch with Tasha, so he has nowhere else to go. Besides, he doesn't really want to have to deal with her, and we'd hoped to move in together after graduation…"
"It must be hard for him," I commented sadly. It couldn't be easy to have your only remaining family member lose their marbles.
"It is," she said. "I keep trying to help him, but he's just so angry all the time."
I gave her an understanding look. I felt horrible I couldn't tell her I wouldn't be as far away as she feared; that she wouldn't be alone. But I'd promised Dimitri, and he was right. While I was sure she'd learned her lesson, people couldn't slip up and pass on information that they didn't know. Dimitri had worked too hard to build a home for Junior and I for us to have to abandon it if Tasha found us.
"So how's life wherever you are?"
"It's good. Really good, Liss. It's different to the life I thought I'd be living and sometimes that scares me. I never saw myself as a mother, and every now and again I have a complete freak out about it," I admitted. "But I'm also very happy."
"And everything is going well with Dimitri?"
"Lissa it's perfect. He's so loving! I wish I could tell you all about his allocation and our lives there but I can't. But I love where we are. I'm quite near a couple of human townships which is nice. And I've been learning to cook, too!"
"Yeah in one of your texts you said you cooked for eight – are there a lot of other people where you are?"
Shit! I hadn't even thought about that. No wonder Dimitri kept reminding me to be careful what I said.
"The Moroi there had guests over, so there were visiting Guardians," I quickly made up. It was a believable lie.
"I was impressed when I got your text," she said. "You used to be able to burn water!"
"I know," I giggled. "I just figured if I'm going to be a Mom I'd better learn to make a few meals. Since then I've done a pork roast, a beef roast, chicken and corn soup, a curry and even biscuits. I tried bread the other day, but it was harder than a rock and completely inedible. I've got a beginner's cookbook, and it's not bad. And I have a couple of frozen pizzas stashed in the freezer so if I stuff up there's always plan b."
"Do you have to cook a lot?" I could tell by her tone she worried I was barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen.
"No. I don't have to cook at all. Meals are provided every day bar Sunday. Dimitri almost always cooks Sunday dinner, but I've decided to make Sunday lunch my thing. I'm kinda hoping to make it a tradition to have friends over for Sunday lunch. Well, once we make some that is. We're pretty isolated where we are."
It was true in a way. While we weren't physically too far from Court, the need to stay hidden from Tasha meant I'd only been there once since we'd moved to the property – and then it was straight to Abe's place. Not that I was heartbroken about it, but I probably would be next week when all my friends came to court to get given their allocations, and I wouldn't be able to let them know I was only twenty minutes away. I made a mental note to discuss the issue with Dimitri and Pavel. Maybe just Eddie and Mason could be told where we were and come for a visit?
Pushing that thought aside, I helped Lissa sort things into different piles; pack for Lehigh, pack for Court, store at Court and get rid of. Lissa being Lissa the 'store at Court' stack was larger than the 'get rid of'; but she'd told me the townhouse there was large, so she'd no doubt have space.
"How are you going to get all your stuff to Court?"
"One of the Szelskys organized it. They've got their Guardians driving their stuff across in a big rig, and they're selling off the extra space." Made sense. The Szelskys were always an enterprising bunch.
"Hope you bought a lot of space," I giggled looking around at the mountain of stuff still to be packed.
The school's primary playing field, which had been completely transformed. With equipment, hills, valleys, and foliage it was a realistic obstacle and endurance course.
"Hey! Rose! I wasn't sure you would make it!" a red-haired dynamo accosted me as I walked into a large wooden structure that housed the Novices as they waited to be called for their trails. Mason. When I'd appeared at the door the young Guardian there had tried to stop me.
"Novices only," he'd informed me.
"Yes. That's right. I'm a Novice." He'd blinked at me perplexed before I'd cajoled, "Come on? Please? All my friends are in there, and I want to wish them good luck."
Nodding he'd let me pass, and I'd walked in to see my closest male friend.
"Wouldn't have missed it for the world, Duckie," I said, giving him a quick hug before he lined up ready to be called. As 'Ashford' he'd be first up.
Looking about I could see the other Novices crowding around, some looking through the doorway out onto the field, those who had mentors standing there getting last minute words of advice and encouragement. Everyone was nervous and excited, and it was hard not to feel a little left out. This was the moment I'd worked towards for most of my life, and I'd be sitting it out.
"You would have aced your trials," an accented voice whispered in my ear as a pair of leather-clad arms wrapped themselves around my waist.
"You bet I would have," I smiled, spinning in his arms and turning to face my lover and former mentor. "You would have been here reminding me to pay attention and not do anything rash. And I would have promised you I wouldn't, and then I'd have gone onto the field and done it anyway."
We both laughed, and I rested my head against his chest, still a little glum.
"You miss it, don't you?" he asked, and I could hear the guilt in his voice. Knowing he'd see right through me if I lied, I answered him honestly.
"Sometimes, yes. Times like this I do. I love being pregnant," I explained, and I meant it, "but I miss the training and the focus and the sense of purpose. I dreamed that somehow we'd be together and we'd be the best of the best, but things are different now."
"We still will be," he soothed. "Once the baby is born you can get back into training."
"I know. And I will. But Junior has to come first now. We both know how risky this business is, Comrade. I know what it's like to grow up with no one – I won't do that to my child."
"I won't either, milaya. I know life hasn't worked out how we thought. But I hope you can still be happy?"
"I am happy, Comrade. I guess it's normal to wonder about the road not taken," I said, for the first time understanding the poem they'd made us study in Senior Language Arts.
"Come to gloat to the rest of us that you got out of this?" Eddie asked coming to stand in front of us with a grin.
"Sure am!" I said, plastering on a grin so he wouldn't guess I wished I was going out onto the field today, too. "I'm expecting you to show them how it's done, Castile, since I'm not going to!"
"You're on," he promised, shaking Dimitri's hand and accepting his best wishes.
"We'd better go to the stands now milaya," Dimitri suggested lovingly, knowing Mase would be called at any moment and I wouldn't want to miss a thing.
We'd only just taken our seats, me sitting beside Dimitri surrounded by Kirk, Krantz, Fernandes, and Jasinski when Alberta's voice was heard across the field calling Mason out. I sat in awe as I watched each of my friends making their way across the field, avoiding Guardians dressed as Strigoi while coaxing their Moroi to the safety of the far end. There were a couple of clear fails, and my heart sank for those Novices who'd faltered at the final hurdle. But all my friends had made it through. I knew there were big celebrations planned this evening in the Novice common room. There'd be lots of alcohol and frivolity, and while I couldn't partake in one, I fully intended to indulge in the other.
Dimitri and my little entourage were leaving the stands to congratulate my friends when a harassed looking Alberta intercepted us. It had been a busy day for her, and if her expression were anything to go by it was still far from over.
"Rose? Dimitri? Could I see you for a moment?" she asked, shepherding us over into the timber structure where the Novices had waited.
Dimitri signaled for the other Guardians to stand by as we walked into the now empty hut.
"I was looking through the guest accommodation bookings earlier, and I noticed that Janine Hathaway and her charge are booked to arrive tomorrow to stay two nights. I've allocated them rooms on the ground floor as far as possible away from yours, but I thought you'd want to know."
I looked at Dimitri sadly. He was aware that Janine no longer considered me her daughter and that I was still struggling with it, especially in light of my impending motherhood. It hadn't occurred to me my mother might be at graduation, and I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt to know that yes she'd be there, but not out of any interest in seeing me.
"Thanks, Alberta," my Russian God replied, seeing me stuck for words. "It's kind of you to let us know."
Alberta nodded and looked as though she wanted to hug me, but her filthy mud-splattered uniform stopped her. Instead, she gave my hand a firm squeeze before leaving Dimitri and me in privacy.
"Come on beautiful, let's get you out of here," Dimitri encouraged lovingly. "You have a party to get ready for," he coaxed in a hopeless attempt at lifting my spirits. He knew me well enough to appreciate he needed to get me back to our room in the guest quarters before a monumental hormonal meltdown occurred.