New Life (Book 1)

Chapter 26 - Ro(yal)manov

We knocked on the door Deli had led us to.

"Enter," called the queen, her voice very serious.

We let ourselves into the room, Dimitri holding the door for me.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

We walked towards the long conference table, and sat down in front of the king and queen.

"So," the queen started. "We've been looking into your family tree, background, etc."

"We also looked into your family's history," the king said.

"I don't really know how to explain this," the queen glanced at her husband.

"But basically, we believe you're adopted," the king said.

My jaw dropped.

"Adopted," I whispered. "I'm adopted?"

"Yes, hun," the queen said softly. "We believe you descended from the Romanov family."

"Romanov?" Dimitri gasped. "Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure, Russo," the king rolled his eyes.

"What is going on right now?" I asked, exasperated. Dimitri looked at me.

"The Romanov line is a royal one," he told me. "Basically, it means you're royal, and I have no business being with you."

"This changes nothing, Dimitri," I hissed at him. I glanced at the king and queen, and they were watching me carefully. I straightened my shoulders, and calmed myself. "If I was already a vampire, how did Dimitri change me?"

"We believe Dimitri actually acted as a catalyst for your transformation," the queen answered.

"You would've turned anyway, sooner or later," the king finished.

"So that's it then, I'm royal?" I asked, shocked.

"We're going to contact the Romanov family about a lost child, and see where that leads. We'll let you know if anything new comes up," the king replied.

I nodded at him, glared at Dimitri, and gracefully left the room. Dimitri followed behind me, shuffling with his head down.

"You're such an idiot!" I yelled at him after we got back to my room. "You actually believe that I'd just go and leave you behind because I'm suddenly a Romanov?"

"Terra, calm do-" he tried.

"You're telling me to calm down?" I hissed, cutting him off. "You basically just told me that you were going to dump me because I'm a royal! Don't you fucking dare tell me to calm down!"

He mumbled something under his breath.

"What was that, Dimitri dearest?" I snarled.

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

"And you damn should be. But sorry doesn't mean I forgive you," I snapped, lifting my chin. "Go. If you can't handle my being a royal, you can go."

"Fine!" He finally snapped back. "Fine, I'll fucking leave. I was just trying to say that you're too fucking high up on the social ladder for me to reach now!"

"Go!" I shrieked. "Out, scram, beat it!"

He rush towards the door, and glared at me.

"You can take this, bitch," he snarled at me, chucking a small brown paper package at me. He opened the door, "I have no need for it!" and slammed it behind him.

I tossed it onto the sofa, and collapsed next to it, rubbing my temples. A knock sounded on the door.

"Who is it?" I called, glaring at the door.

"It's me, Miss," answered Deli.

"Do come in," I replied. She entered my room, and sat down on a chair near me. "Be honest with me?"

"Always, Miss," she smiled gently.

"How loud was that?" I asked, looking straight at her. She paled a bit more, if possible.

"Um," she stuttered.

"You promised, Delina," I puppy-eyed her. She sighed.

"Loud enough for me down in the kitchens to hear," she said, frowning a little at me. "What happened?"

"We found out that I'm a Romanov-"

"A Romanov?" she gasped. "Miss- um, Madame Romanov, why did you not tell me?"

"Deli?" I gaped at her. "Why are you treating me like a stranger?"

"You're a Romanov, Miss Terra," she whispered. "If I get caught talking to you like a friend, your family will have my head!"

"I will not let that happen, Deli," I said, lifting my chin. "For the meantime, please don't do that."

"Yes, Miss," she smiled at me.

"Considering it's the middle of the day, do you want to go do something?" I asked.

She nodded frantically.

"It's dreadfully hot, why don't we go for a swim?" she suggested.

"Where?" I asked.

"Just change into a suit, I'll be right back," she replied, zooming out of my room. I walked to the closet, and snagged a cute bikini out of a pile of swim suits. After digging for a while, I found matching bottoms. The bottoms were all white, and the top was floral designed.

"Terra?" called Delina.

"Be there in a minute!" I answered. i quickly changed into the suit, and grabbed a gray romper. I walked towards the living room, and grabbed two towels out of my bathroom. "Okay, I'm ready!"

"Alright, can you follow me?" she asked.

"Pretty sure," I laughed. She walked over to the window, and opened it. "Are we-"

"Yup," she grinned at me. "Can you get us down?"

Instead of replying, I shoved her out the window. She grabbed my arm, and I tumbled after her.

"Damn it, Terra!" she shrieked. I laughed, and slowed our descent. A warm bubble of moving air curled around us, and we drifted to the ground. "You ready?"

"Sure," I answered. She took off into the market in front of us, zooming past vendors and buyers alike. "Shit!" I heard her laugh from inside the market, and took off after it.

"Come on, Terra!" she giggled.

"You cheated!" I yelled, grinning. It took awhile, but I eventually caught up with her, running a only a few feet behind her. She took a sharp turn, and left the market, heading towards the entrance to the city. "What are you doing?"

"It's outside the gates," she answered.

"How are we getting back?" I asked, gaping at her blurred figure.

"Just trust me, okay?" she replied, giving me a quick smile. We sped out of the city, following the cobblestone path for a while. She then took a sharp turn left, and took off into the forest. I was again falling behind.

"Damn it, Deli!" I yelled after her. I used a vine to hurl myself forward, and caught a wind current. I landed next to her, and she jumped, causing her to tumble into a tree. She groaned.

"Seriously?" she grumbled. She rubbed her head, and got up. I snickered at her, and she shot me a glare. "We're almost there."

"Let's go!" I said, feeling my excitement grow. She grumbled to herself, and took off once again, me trailing a little ways behind her. She came to a sudden stop, and I skidded into her. "Fuck."

She laughed at me.

"I need you to work your magic on this bramble," she smiled at me. "It wasn't here the last time I was."

I channelled my energy into the thorny bushes, and shaped a person sized tunnel through them. We walked through, and I closed the tunnel behind us. Glancing around us, I gasped.

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dun dun duuun ;)

new one coming soon (hopefully)