The Disappearing Act (Vampire Academy Fan Fiction Book 2)

Chapter 24: To Be a Belikov

Chapter 24: To Be a Belikov

                There's only been a few times in my life where I could say I was genuinely happy.

One was the day my best friend became Queen and my soulmate finally agreed to be mine.

The second was the day I said "yes" to the last of Dimitri's proposals.

The third was when my daughter came home.

Mia drove up in her new car, no doubt a gift from the Queen, and, before she could even park, I heard Annessa squealing in delight as she saw Dimitri and I waiting for her on the front steps. The little girl was let loose of her car seat and she ran as fast as her little legs could carry her into my arms.

I would never forget the feeling of completeness that rushed over me as I crushed her to my chest, Dimitri's arms wrapping around the both of us as we stood reunited once again. We'd only been a family for a short time, but I would never be able to give her up; I didn't know what I'd been thinking leaving them in the hotel like that.

"Auntie Rose?" she said, her tiny arms tight around my neck.

                I smiled as I pulled back to look down at her grinning cherub face. "Annessa?"

"Can we stay here, Auntie Rose?" she asked timidly, her eyes darting behind me to the welcoming house just beyond the door.

"Yes," Dimitri answered for me, stroking the little girl's hair and kissing her forehead. "We can stay here as long as you'd like."

                Her grin nearly split her cheeks as she attacked me in another hug.

                She was a beautiful child, and I couldn't be prouder to call her mine. As the days passed, I fell more and more in love with her. I hadn't seen her in close to two months and I now understood what people meant when they said children grow up so fast. She'd changed in our time apart; grown more stubborn, like Viktoria, but she had the clearheaded that could only be attributed to Dimitri. She was very much a Belikov, and now so was I; I was finally comfortable with the title Guardian Rosemarie Belikov-Hathaway.

                Three weeks after she'd come home to us, we were a real, functioning family like the one I'd dreamed about growing up. Dimitri and I had enrolled her back into the Court kindergarten to hopefully somewhat catchup with her previous classmates; we were doting on her like any new parents would, and had already transformed our guest bedroom into a princess paradise. We were disciplining her, of course, but we planned to raise her to be strong, like all three of her parents.  I couldn't wait for the day we started teaching her to fight.

                It was fun being normal for a while. Dimitri got up to make us breakfast every morning while Annessa and I got ready in the master bathroom. She made me braid her golden curls and help her pick dresses to wear; I was quickly realizing she was as much of a girly-girl as Viktoria had been. The bad-ass Belikov would kick in eventually; at least, I was hoping.

                After Dimitri and I dropped her off at school, we'd come home and work on the house. Leaving it for four years had left a layer of dust and unwanted memories that had to be cleaned before we were finally "home" again; it was slowly being pieced back together. It was perfect though; I felt happy, truly, genuinely happy and I hadn't taken a single anti-depressant since the hospital.

                Our honeymoon period came to an end the day Cassie showed up at our door with two Royal Guards. Annessa was at school and would be taken home by Mia, she said. We were due in Court to testify about Jill.

                Apparently, she'd been deemed lucid enough to finally go on trial for the second time in her young life. She was charged with attempted murder, violating a Court Guardian, escaping her last prison sentence, and aiding a criminal who she still wouldn't name. She was leaving that for me to do; even crazy, I knew how her mind worked. She and her sister had a lot more in common than met the eye.

                Dimitri and I changed into our Guardian blacks; we'd been granted credentials again upon deciding to stay at Court for a while, but neither of us had contacted Hans about a job. They'd granted us the reward money for locating Jill, and we still had plenty of savings from our years of dedicated service; we were fine and we didn't have an interest in serving others. We couldn't; not yet, anyway. Even Guardians needed a break sometimes.

                As we rode in the car, Cassie turned around from the passenger's seat and said, "If you aren't feeling ready, Rose, the doctor can excuse you. I know this has been–"

"I'll be fine," I promised, giving her a nod that she returned, but I could see the hesitation in her eyes. I was still a flight risk even though I'd been cleared by the doctors weeks ago; I was still the girl who'd broken under all the pressure and now everyone was afraid to see how much I could really take.

                But, I was a Belikov now, and to own the name meant to be invincible. It was time I started acting like it.