Chapter 17: Arrival
DPOV
Roza was still asleep when we were getting ready to land, Pavel had notified me when we were close to landing so I could get Roza and myself into seats. When I picked up Roza from the bed she awoke slightly.
"Comrade?"
"Shhh Roza, go back to sleep, I am just picking you up to get you into the seat for landing." I told her.
As we were close to landing, I was looking out the window of the plane at my home town. It was still winter and there was plenty of snow on the ground but I could still recognize areas. I couldn't wait to show Roza around the town that I grew up and I was definitely excited to be bringing my Roza home to meet my family.
Once we landed, I carried Roza out to the waiting SUV, Yuri helped me get her into the car and I took the seat next to her and I molded her to my body. It was a short ride to the Mazur Compound, when we pulled up to the gated entrance, I could see the high tech surveillance equipment that they were using. There was a short drive down a tree lined road and we pulled up to the enormous structure, the building could be easily mistaken for a hotel.
Once we were stopped Yuri helped me again to get Roza out of the car, she started to awake just enough to position herself in my arms and wrap her arms around my neck. Pavel came over and directed all of us to follow him inside. We went to the left of the main entrance where there was a separate door. Pavel explained that Rose had her own entrance outside as well as an inside entrance that allowed her access to the rest of the building.
Pavel explained the majority of the entrances required a scan of a thumbprint to get in and he would be taking care of that later today for all of us. We followed Pavel into the foyer where there was a staircase and an elevator. We got into the elevator and he pushed floor 3, when we arrived on the floor, Pavel directed us to a huge bedroom with a king size bed and huge bathroom. I placed Roza down on the bed and turned to Pavel and he pointed to a door where he said my room was located. He also explained that a few guardians would be up shortly with our luggage.
Pavel informed us that the doctor would be up shortly to assess Rose and that he would be back in about two hours to collect us all, if Roza was awake, to meet with Abe.
"I have also arranged for guardians to accompany Rose and yourself to see your family, I have scheduled it for 1pm to 5pm. Mr. Mazur is having an informal reception tonight at 7pm for Rose to introduce her to some key personnel." Pavel stated.
"Thank you Pavel, I appreciate that." I said
"Oh, I have arranged for the seamstress to see you after the doctor to be measured for new uniforms" Pavel stated. And with that he showed Celeste and Yuri where their rooms were located. I couldn't wait till Roza was awake so we could explore the area.
I wanted to cuddle up to Roza but I was aware that there would be guardians arriving shortly with Roza's and my luggage.
I went to the door that Pavel stated was my room, which I hoped I would not spend much time sleeping in. It was a modest sized room, it had a queen size bed, but looked like there was enough room for a king sized bed if necessary. There were two leather chairs with a table and a lamp between them. The bathroom was a nice size, it had a big shower that fit my height. There was no bath tub, but I was assuming that maybe Roza's bathroom would have one.
The walls throughout Roza's room and mine were white and there was some sparse furniture. I was thinking that this was intentional, so that Roza could decorate to her liking.
I heard a knock at Roza's door, I went to open it and there were a bunch of guardians carrying our luggage. I directed them to drop Roza's and mine luggage in her huge walk in closet and then specified which luggage was Yuri and Celeste's. After they left, I closed and locked the door to Roza's room and I got up on the bed and lied down next to Roza and she curled into my body and I put an arm around and was playing with her hair as I pulled out one of my western books and started to read.
About an hour later there was a knock on the door. I gingerly moved off the bed trying not to disturb Roza and I went and opened the door, there was a woman who identified herself as the physician for .
I opened the door further and allowed her into Roza's room.
"Hi Guardian Belikov I presume?"
"Correct"
"I am Dr. Morozov, I am here to check on Ms. Hathaway and then to give you a physical." She said.
I was looking at her when she stated "I am human but I am aware that Ms. Hathaway and you are dhampirs and that Mr. Mazur is a moroi. I went to medical school in Moscow, but I did my residency at the hospital at Court and learned about the differences between the groups."
There was another knock at the door and a woman was there and she said "Hello Guardian Belikov, my name is Sasha and I am Mr. Mazur's head housekeeper. I am here to help Ms. Hathaway unpack, oh I see she is still asleep. I can sit with her if you would like to have your physical and measurements taken while you are just in the next room."
I let her in and said "Thank you, I had the other guardians put everything in Roza's closet, so some of the clothing will belong to me, which I will retrieve later."
I followed the doctor into my bedroom.
RPOV
I slowly started to come around, I didn't want to open my eyes, but I could tell we were no longer on an airplane. I realized I was on the softest mattress ever and my head was not killing me anymore and there was no more pressure from the black orbs and faces that I see. I could also feel that there was no warm body next to me, meaning that Comrade was not in the bed with me, but I could faintly detect his aftershave, so I am guessing that he is not too far away.
I opened my eyes and so far so good, no pain. I took the chance and sat up and looked around. I was in a huge king size bed and I could detect movement in my closet and I suspected that it would be Dimitri, because that would be something he would do, unpack my clothes.
So I decided to call for him "Comrade?"
A woman walked out of the closet and I said "Oh, hi, I thought that Guardian Belikov was in the closet."
"Hello Miss Hathaway, my name is Sasha, I am the head housekeeper for Mr. Mazur, I was just organizing your clothes for you. Guardian Belikov is in his bedroom with Dr. Morozov getting his physical. Do you need me to get him?"
"No, that's okay, I can wait till he is finished." I got out of the bed and straightened my clothes and walked over to Sasha and shook her hand and said "It's nice to meet you Sasha, please call me Rose."
"It's nice to meet you Rose."
Just then there was a knock at the door. Sasha said "I'll get that, it must be the seamstress to measure Guardian Belikov for his uniform."
A woman introduced herself and then went to stand by the door that I assumed leaded to Dimitri's bedroom. The door to his room opened a short while later and a woman walked out as the seamstress walked in.
"Good morning Miss Hathaway, I am Dr. Morozov."
"Good morning Dr. Morozov, you can call me Rose." I replied.
"I was informed that you got a bad headache due to you being shadow kissed and intramuscular injection of a sedative was required. How are you feeling now?"
"Much better, once I am behind the wards it just disappears." I said.
Dr. Morozov started her physical and continued to ask question that were relevant to the area she was examining. Partially through the exam, Dimitri walked out of his room and gave me the biggest smile. He sat down in one of the comfy chairs in my room and he pulled out a western book and started reading.
Dr. Morozov started asking about my menstruations and if I was sexually active. "Don't worry anything you tell me is confidential, I won't be telling your parents anything." Dr. Morozov stated.
"My periods are pretty much regular" I said and I took a peek at Dimitri and he gave me a slight nod "and yes I am having sex with my boyfriend." I saw Dimitri sit up a little straighter and he gave me the biggest smile. I guess he likes it when I call him names like my boyfriend.
"Are you on birth control?" Dr. Morozov asked.
"No, I am not on birth control because my boyfriend is dhampir" I said.
"I like to have the female guardians that I treat on birth control for two reasons. The first reason is obvious, for protection in case a female guardian had sex with a moroi or a human. And the second reason why, is for training purposes and guarding purposes, it helps to time their schedules."
I must have had a confused look on my face because Dr. Morozov stated "You take the first three weeks worth of pills and then instead of taking the last set of pills which are just sugar pills you start a new pack and then you don't have your period. But every three months you will take the pills from the last row to have you bleed as you need to at least bleed four times a year."
Dimitri came over and starting rubbing my back and informed Dr. Morozov that he and I were involved. He started asking questions about risks and which pills were the best to use. I sadly started to zone out while they were talking. Dimitri realized that I was zoning out and elbowed me and I was brought back to the present as Dr. Morozov handed me a pack of pills. Dimitri and I thanked her and Dimitri showed her to the door. I went to the closet and realized that Sasha had unpacked everything, including Dimitri's belongings. When I walked out of the closet and I saw Dimitri, we both realized it was the first time we have been alone since the morning at the hotel. It was like a moth to a flame. I stood on my tip toes and wrapped my arms around his neck, while Dimitri put his arms around my waist and lifted me up. My legs immediately went around his waist and he walked us back to the bed. The whole time both of us were fighting for dominance while kissing. Once we had to break apart to breath, Dimitri said "I have wanted to kiss you for forever." As he placed me down on the bed and he hovered over me, while kissing my neck he said "We can't get too carried away, Pavel is coming to get us shortly."
"OMG, can we explore?" I asked.
"Yes, but you have to stay within the suite because we need to have thumbprints to get in to the other buildings."
Dimitri got off of me and the bed and then held his hand out and helped me off the bed. First I looked in the bathroom, which was bigger than my dorm room at St Vladimir's. It had a huge shower and a bathtub that was perfect for two people. It had two sinks as well as a place to sit down and do your make up.
I looked at Dimitri and said "Care to try out the bath tub with me Comrade sometime?"
He came up behind me and his arms encircled my waist and he whispered in my ear "absolutely".
Then he grabbed my hand and said "Come on let's check out the rest of the suite."
He pointed out his room and bathroom, and then we walked out of his door into the rest of the suite. It was an open plan there was a kitchen that we discovered that was well stocked. There was an island that had four high stools allowing you to eat at the counter. Dimitri was looking at the cooking equipment that was available and I envisioned sitting at the counter while my love cooked. Dimitri must have been thinking the same thing as he said "Roza, the Russian foods I will be able to make you in this kitchen" with a huge smile on his face.
"I can't wait Comrade" I said. Next to the kitchen was a table with six chairs, then there was wall that had a fire place that you could see from both sides. When you walked to the other side of the wall, there was a huge sofa in a U shape facing the fire place with a huge flat screen tv over the fireplace.
Dimitri was right behind me and said "Roza, it is time to introduce you to football."
"I already know about football Comrade" I said.
"I mean football as in what you would call soccer." Dimitri replied.
"Ohhh" I replied. Trying to show interest but failing miserably as Dimitri kissed the top of my head.
"Well, I can't wait to introduce you to reality tv, I have missed it. I was so addicted to it when Lissa and I were on the run." I said.
"Can't wait" Dimitri said while rolling his eyes.
We found a staircase and went down stairs as apparently we were on the top floor. We walked out on to the second floor and found Celeste and Yuri, there were six identical bedrooms for guardians similar to Dimitri's room upstairs. Celeste and Yuri followed Dimitri and I as we went to the first floor and found a small work out room, laundry facilities and storage.
Just then Pavel walked in and said "perfect timing".
"We were just looking around" I replied.
"Alright well, follow me, Rose your father would like to speak with each of you and then I will take you on a tour of the compound and get your bio-identification and then we have set up for you to visit Dimitri's family this afternoon. Your father would like you back here by 6pm for a 7pm dinner." Pavel stated.
We followed Pavel out of "my suite" as he referred to it and into a foyer and up 4 flights of stairs to Baba's office. Pavel showed Dimitri and I into Baba's office and had Celeste and Yuri wait outside. When I walked in Baba looked up from his desk and asked "Rose, how are you feeling?"
"Much better, thank you" I responded as I looked around. Baba had a huge desk with two comfortable chairs in front of the desk that Dimitri and I sat in. Behind Baba was floor to ceiling book shelves and to Baba's right was a smaller desk with a few computer monitors where Pavel went and took a seat. And to Baba's left were floor to ceiling windows looking over the back part of the compound.
"Where's Mom" I asked as Dimitri and I sat in the chairs in front of the desk.
"Your mother is currently in her office speaking with Lord Szelzky about taking some time off." Baba answered. "Rose, Pavel will get Dimitri and you set up for bio-identification and you are welcome to go anywhere on the compound, Dimitri as Rose's Primary Guardian, you will have the same security access. The only places you will not be able to access is this office, my bedroom and the basement."
"What's in the basement?" I asked.
"In good time, I will let you know, but for now, please respect me on this" Baba said.
"Okay" I said as I gave Dimitri a quick look and he gave me a quick reassuring look.
"Dimitri, I was not happy when I learned that you were involved with my daughter, and yes I realize that it may not be my place to say that, but I have to say that you have proven to me in the last few days that you have Rose's best interest at heart." Baba said.
"Thank you Sir, I intended to continue to keep her safe and happy." Dimitri replied.
"Please call me Abe, but if you harm her or hurt her you will be dealing with me." Baba said.
"Baba" I yelled.
"Rose, it's okay. If you and I ever had a daughter, I would be the same way. Hell, I will be like that with Victoria, I expected this speech." Dimitri said.
"I hope your suite is satisfactory?" Baba asked.
"It beyond satisfactory, it better than perfect" I said.
"Well, you have the credit card that I gave you and you can order whatever you like and decorate it to your taste. Just let Sasha, Pavel or me know and we will organize whatever you need. And feel free to order more clothes if necessary for the both of you." Baba stated.
"Thank you Baba" I replied.
"Pavel has set up so that the both of you will be able to visit Dimitri's family this afternoon but I would like you both back here by 6 pm for dinner at 7 pm. There are some people that I would like to introduce you to if you are up to that?" Baba asked.
"Yes, I think so." I replied not knowing how things would go with Dimitri's family.
"Alright, Pavel is going to take you on a tour and then I'll see you all for dinner." Baba said as he came around the desk and gave me a hug.
"Bye Baba" I said.
We followed Pavel down to the second floor which was the security room and Pavel set all of us up for our thumbprint access. I watched Dimitri as he seemed to be very interested in all the high tech security equipment. I didn't peg Dimitri for a computer junkie with all his western books.
We followed Pavel out and he showed us were the main kitchen and dining area for the guardians and staff. He also showed us where Baba's bedroom was just in case I needed him.
Then Pavel showed us outside, this place was huge, I felt like I needed a map just to get around. There was an outdoor swimming pool for the summer as well as an outdoor track. There was also a cleared path around the compound that was used to walk the ward line, but Pavel said guardians enjoyed running on that path as well.
He showed us a huge garage where all the cars were kept and he pointed out that a few of the retired guardians were in charge of the up keep of all vehicles. Pavel then explained that Baba had always been very generous to his guardians. If a guardian became injured and was no longer able to perform their duty or if they simply aged out and needed to retire, Baba always gave them the option to stay here and work in a variety of settings.
Pavel then brought us to this enormous structure which seemed to have the most buzz around it. We walked in and there was so much activity, there were areas for sparring, there was a track above the sparring area, there was a separate area for weight training and a separate area for cardio and everything was high-tech and looked brand new. We walked farther in and he showed us where there was an Olympic sized pool and a few Jacuzzis for relaxing. I am sure there is probably a steam room in the locker rooms.
Everyone in there seemed to quiet down as Pavel was showing us around and I am sure they have all been informed of my arrival. But I was feeling a bit on display and normally I would like that at St. Vladimir's but these were not my peers, Dimitri sensing my hesitations put his hand on the small of my back just to reassure me.
Pavel brought us back to the front entrance of my suite as a van pulled up to us and Pavel introduced the guardians that would be driving us to Dimitri's family house. Pavel also informed us that we would all be going through an assessment of our abilities especially mine. So that Dimitri and he would be able to develop training plans for me and that we were to meet Pavel in the gym tomorrow at 8am.
With that Pavel wished us farewell and we all climbed into the van to see Dimitri's family.