A Different Path (A Vampire Academy fanfic)

Chapter 2

DPOV
That meeting came all too soon. "I thought you were at a dinner?" asked a confused Helena at the sight of an extremely casually dressed Lissa as we went to the food court. She'd loaded both of my arms with bags... and hers. And she'd spent a fortune. I could only guess Lissa had given her that account and whatever insane number of digits would come up on an ATM screen.
Lissa laughed as she embraced my child. Her niece, I realised. Helena would have been brought up with the most powerful royalty as her closest family. Rose was dutifully by Lissa's side and also took our baby into her arms, glaring at me from over Helena's shoulder. I had hung back as soon as Helena had laughed then grinned in delighted shock and watched the impromptu reunion in fascination.

"What are you doing with my child, Belikov?" hissed Rose when I joined Helena at her mother's side. I'd of course respectfully greeted Lissa and acknowledged her as Queen.
"You know full well she's also my child, Rose."
"Helena!" she reprimanded. "I thought I'd-"
"Mother!" Helena snapped before looking at me pleadingly and sympathetically.
"Don't tell me what to do, young lady."
"Rose, would you try seeing things from her point of view?" I pleaded as we all walked to a McDonald's together. "And maybe also mine?"
"Why should I? You left me with her."
"You're the one who threw me out. I left temporarily to let you cool down. By then you'd decided to completely cut me out of your life, and Helena's with it."
She glared at me then Helena. "This is exactly why I warned you, Helena."
Our baby girl returned her mother's fierce glare with matching intensity. "Unlike you, I believe you should have told him the second you knew. This fight wouldn't be happening otherwise." She launched herself into my arms as we joined the queue. "I've waited my whole life, Mom. Now he knows and I won't let him go. You forced me out of his life, forced him out of mine. Just because you resent your parents, your father especially, doesn't mean I have to too. He's stuck with me anyway so he might as well know who I am."
I swear steam was coming out of Rose's ears and nostrils upon hearing Helena defend me and her choice of telling me. "Maybe I should have kept you charmed until eighteen," Rose muttered.
Helena reached breaking point. "You know what, Mom, if you're on your way to the Academy, when you're there I don't want to see you!" she fumed quietly in Rose's ear, the pain and betrayal was clear as day. She stalked away with tears about to stream down her face.
"I'm going after her. Nice job, Rose. I think you may have just turned into our world's biggest hypocrite." I shook my head in disappointment before tracking down my daughter.

RPOV
"How dare he!" I exploded silently while I watched him nearly run after Helena, radiating disappointment and disapproval.
Lissa's own shock came through the bond. I could feel her indecision on whose side, if either's she should take. Then she shook her head. "You have just lost me a visit with my niece, Rose," she said wearily as we stepped to the counter. We ordered and payed. She continued as we stepped to the side, "Thanks for that. I was eager to see how she was settling in to high school and was going to-"
"I know!" I snapped tiredly.
"Rose," she sighed when the momentary hurt wore off. "For once I agree with them both. Grow up and let Helena choose for herself, respect her decisions fully, and for heaven's sake woman admit to yourself you're still head over heals in love with him."
I could not believe her! She hardly ever took anyone's side but mine on this issue, the biggest of my life, yet one altercation with Dimitri and Helena on the same side and she was choosing theirs?
"You know, Lissa, I'm simply going to be your guardian until this trip is over."
'You can consider yourself fired if you don't start acting like the mother of a teenager in desperate need of her father and familial stability you are.'
"You wouldn't!" I hissed. I seemed to be doing that a lot today.
"Try me. I could bring you down with just five little words..."
"Lissa!" I complained.
She pulled out her phone and called Hans. "Put Guardian Hathaway on leave... Rose... No... No... Yes... Now... To do with Helena... Yes... No... Good. Thank you." She started to turn to me to tell me I was on leave as of now and was for two weeks. "Now go find her!"
"She doesn't want to see me. She needs space since she's clearly more like me than we believed."
"You're the one who made me bond her. I feel you made me her version of Repunzal's Le Strega." It was all too true.