Protection - d. belikov

Chapter 4

Kat couldn't sleep. She had tossed and turned the entire night. She would close her eyes and when she opened them, she would not see her ceiling. She would see another ceiling, that belonged to someone else. She didn't know who's eyes she was looking through but for some reason it didn't frighten her.

She gave up on the pretence of sleep and she decided to go to the library to find answers about why she couldn't sleep. She stayed in her sweatpants that she tried to sleep in but she did change her shirt. It was early evening and not a lot of people would be out and about. Their classes were scheduled to start in three hours so most Moroi students were still in bed. She didn't care about anyone seeing her as she walked down the corridors. She reached the library and she was met with a friendly face. Sonya Karp was the adopted daughter of Viktor Dashkov and she was St Vladimir's librarian.

Sonya had not specialized when she came of age and as a result, she had been shipped off to find out what's wrong with her. She had returned a different woman and the rumours that followed were anything but kind. Kat had always been friendly to her, as they had grown up together and Kat had considered Sonya a friend. Sonya and Kat exchanged smiles and Kat approached her friend. She had asked Sonya about her predicament and Sonya led her towards a section in the library that she believed would give her the answers that she was looking for.

Kat took a few books off of the shelves and she laid them on the table. She emerged herself in the books and she lost track of time. She was brought out of her thoughts when she saw Lissa and Viktor heading towards the archive section of the library. She checked her watch and she realised that she was almost late to class. She had just enough time to get dressed in her school uniform and go to class. She picked up the books that she had yet to read through and she left the library, still reading. She ran down the steps without looking where she was going and she bumped into someone and her books tumbled towards the floor.

"Are you okay?" a concerned voice asked her.

"I'm okay, are you?" Kat replied. She looked up and she noticed that Dimitri was the person that she ran into.

"Where are you headed in such a rush?"

"I'm late to class and Mikhail is very strict on tardiness." Kat bent down to pick up her books and Dimitri followed her lead. They reached for the same book and their fingers brushed. Dimitri's hands were warm and Kat couldn't understand why. It was icy cold outside, yet he was warm. She didn't let her mind stay focused on his hands and she stood up.

"I have to go Cowboy, but I will talk to you later," Kat said as she turned to walk away.

"See you later Printsessa," Dimitri yelled after her.

Kat had sped to her room and luckily, she made it to class. The school day dragged by and she was excited to go to the training grounds. It was a usual thing for her to do. She enjoyed watching the Novices train and she was especially excited for today. It was Friday and Fridays were usually Challenge Day. Novices that were low on the score board could challenge other novices for their ranking.

Kat had just got to the training grounds when she saw Rose challenging Mason. She wondered why. Rose was usually number one and to Kat it made no sense why Rose was challenging Mason.

"Why is Rose challenging Mason?" Kat asked as she reached Alberta.

"Rose is fifth in standing," Alberta answered nonchalantly.

"What! Why?"

"Rose skipped a class and that lost her ten merits."

"I'm impressed. Rose is half Mason's size but she's using it to her advantage," Dimitri commented. Kat only realized that Dimitri was part of the group of Guardians that was standing watching the challenges.