The way that it should have been

Chapter 36

(HELLO EVERYONE, LONG TIME NO SEE. I KNOW THAT IT HAS BEEN A WHILE SINCE I WAS LAST ABLE TO UPDATE. SO HERE IS WHAT IS GOING ON. MY SIGHT IS MARGINALLY BETTER, SOMETIMES. MY DOCTOR HAS SCHEDULED ME FOR ANOTHER APPOINTMENT MID NOVEMBER. BUT I COULD JUST NOT STAND TO LEAVE YOU GUYS HANGING ON FOR THAT LONG WITHOUT WORD OR AT LEAST OCCASIONAL UPDATES. SO, THIS IS WHAT I AM GOING TO DO. I AM STARTING MY SCHEDULE BACK UP TODAY AND ON MY REGULARLY SCHEDULED UPDATE DAYS, IF I CAN SEE WELL ENOUGH, I AM GOING TO UPDATE. SO THAT MEANS I AM GOING TO HAVE TO POOL MY SCREEN TIME, AS BEST AS I CAN, FOR THAT WEEK TO DO THE UPDATES. I AM HOPING THAT AFTER MY APPOINTMENT IN NOVEMBER I WILL HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF WHAT IS GOING ON WITH MY SIGHT. I WILL BE UPLOADING A COUPLE OF UPDATES TO MY ACCOUNT TODAY SO THAT ALL I WILL NEED TO DO IS CLICK ON PUBLISH FOR YOU GUYS TO BE ABLE TO READ THEM ON MY REGULARLY SCHEDULED DATE. I HOPE THAT YOU GUYS WILL ALL FORGIVE ME FOR WHAT HAS BEEN GOING ON WITH ME THIS YEAR. I LOVE AND ADORE YOU GUYS SO PLEASE ENJOY THE UPDATES FOR THIS WEEK.)

My poor girl, she has never deserved any of the shit that has happened to her. But she has always come out of it stronger in the end, no matter what the 'it' was. And I know that as long as she has Dimitri by her side that she will continue to do so. She may lose everything and everyone else, but as long as she has Dimitri, she will not only survive but they will thrive, together.

"I don't know Lissa, Rose and Dimitri mentioned that she didn't know them. But I don't think they know one way or the other if that had anything to do with this for sure yet. But regardless, for right now, no one and I do mean no one can find out about who Rose really is. It is just too dangerous for her, and for the people that she loves and cares about. She is having her aunt, who that is I don't yet know, send fifty guardians to the academy when we get back." And unless whoever her aunt is has an entire army of private guardians, like her father apparently does. I have no idea just exactly how that was even going to be possible.

"Tatiana." Came Lissa's almost inaudible whisper.

I wasn't sure that I heard her right, so I asked. "What was that Lissa?"

"Her aunt, not by blood, but Rose's father Uncle Abe has been best friends with Tatiana Ivashkov since they were very small children. Their father's grandfather's and even great grandfathers were also friends. So just like Rose and I are sisters and Eddie, and Mason are our brothers, our queen is both mine and Rose's aunt."

Yet again I was in shock, and I knew that my face showed it this time as well. It was obvious that I was beginning to lose my ability to hold onto my guardian mask of indifference, at least for today. But that is usually what happens when your family is involved. And Rose is my family, she is the daughter that I'd never gotten the chance to have.

"How long have the two of you known about all of this?"

"We found out while we were away. We found out quite a lot about both of our lives, families, and family histories while we were away. We even found out that my grandfather and Rose's grandfather even knew each other."

'Small world.' I thought to myself briefly.

"When she is up to it, I would really appreciate it if the two of you would bring me up to speed on everything else that you now know."

Lissa just nodded. "Whenever Rose is ready."

"What about Guardian Belikov? What about him makes him a part of Rose's family?" Mason asked.

I didn't know what to say. I know that they are planning on going public when they get back, or at least they were going to, and I hope that they still do. But should I tell these kids what is going on between Rose and Dimitri myself or wait and let them do so themselves?