The Little Rose (VA Fanfic)

It's all new

DPOV
I gently woke Rose for our third morning training.
"Go away, Dimi!" she grumbled into her pillow.
"Come on, Rose. Don't you want to learn new stuff? Stuff the others won't know for years?" I ran a coaxing hand through her hair.
"I wanna sleep," was her barely intelligible response. I looked back at the door as it was opened by a sleepy but determined best friend of mine.
"Let me try," Ivan whispered and replaced me sitting on the edge of Rose's bed. "Come on Ro-Ro, Uncle Ivan won't show you any cool magic if you don't wake up and get to training." I stifled a chuckle.

Ivan had somehow decided to assert himself as her unofficial Uncle, and liked to use up the last half hour of training to show off his fire magic skills. And Rose was loving it. She clearly loved him for it, but it was nothing like the way she clung to me and cared for me so deeply it never ceased to amaze me.

"Okay, okay!" she relented and swatted him away, sitting up and throwing off her fairy covers that had just had to make the journey with us. "I'm up, you freaks!" Rose teased and cut me a playful glare and swatted Ivan again. "Let a girl get changed and I'll be in the Senior gym in ten."
"No chance, Rose. We'll be waiting outside. Your ten minutes are more like twenty- especially in the morning."
Again she glared at me and huffed. Ivan and I took that as our cue to step outside.

"She's a handful, buddy," Ivan laughed after we'd stepped into the hallway. "I really don't get how you put up with her," he teased and punched me lightly on the shoulder.
"I love her," I shrugged my shoulders, "she's like my little sister, only difference is she's Turkish."
Ivan looked at me incredulously. "I did hear you right, didn't I? I did just hear you say you love that little Mazur monster?"
I laughed. "Yeah, you did. And don't look at me like that! You love her too, you idiot!" I teased.
He dropped his jaw dramatically. "I do not! You're delusional, Dimitri."
I shook my head. "You do too. It's hard not to love her once you know her. She's so innocent despite being so cunning."
"She is sweet," he conceded, "and innocent."
"And traumatised," I sighed sadly.

Again, I was assaulted by the images of her in the clutches of that blonde Strigoi, being turned and having her throat ripped out. Before I knew what was happening Rose's small form had bounded into my arms and wrapped her little arms around my neck.

"I'm right here, Dimi. You're okay and I'm fine, I'm perfectly okay," she whispered into my ear. "I'm not going anywhere, Dimi."
I buried my face into the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent grounded me, reassuring me that she was most certainly alive. "I know, Rose, I know." I gently squeezed her to me then cautiously set her on her feet. She gripped my right hand in both of her little ones and tugged me downstairs with Ivan dutifully following behind us.

Ivan'sPOV
Rose had Dimitri absolutely whipped, it was adorable, watching her pull him to the Senior campus and gym. She was so tiny and he was so damn tall, but she had a character that made her seem twice her petite size- even when hiding behind and clinging to him. Not even Viktoria- his littlest sister- made Dimitri so soft, protective, defensive. Rose Mazur had made him truly happier than I'd seen in years... yet she also made him vulnerable.

I had come learn that she was so deep in his heart already that the recent attack on her by Strigoi had left him with nightmares, ones that happened day and night thanks to guilt and trauma- hence my presence at St Vladimir's for this semester. Yes, I'd taken a full semester off collage to spend it with my best friend to help him out and support him. Dimitri was like a brother to me after all.

I watched on as zmeyette was trained by Dimitri, completely engrossed yet again. If you'd said to me five months ago that I'd get a kick out of watching Dimitri train Rosemarie Mazur, I would have laughed and not believed you. Now, however, I was dead serious when I said she was incredibly talented and Dimitri was an amazing teacher.