Charlotte

Chapter 14

A/N: Big thanks to Thierry_sno for commenting! I'm glad you're liking where it's going! 

"So, Christian told me something interesting," Rose told me. "Apparently, his parents did come after him after they turned Strigoi. His aunt Tasha had to protect him. They fought, and apparently, she got really messed up. Like this big scar on her face. He didn't even know anything was wrong with them. I always imagined they'd talk and move differently...but Christian said the only thing that changed about them was their eyes and their color." 

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked. I was lying in bed, and Rose was sitting at my side with my back to her. 

"Just making conversation." 

I didn't say anything. I spent my entire life believing I was something I wasn't. Granted, we had no idea if this Aasimar thing was true; there was only one source and it wasn't even credible, Rose told me, but it was a shot.

 "We need you to convince Dimitri to get us out of the wards so we can go find this conspiracy theorist. We managed to track him down to a small middle of nowhere town about two hours away." 

I turned, looking her up and down. "What makes you think I can talk him into it?" 

Rose gave me a look. "I'm not stupid or blind, Charlie. You basically asserted your dominance over him in front of me. Not only that, but I'd never seen Dimitri scared before, not like when he saw you after your...episode." 

I looked down, smoothing out my blue blanket. "The dance is coming up soon," I say finally. Dimitri wouldn't risk taking all of us out, even for me. Ultimately, Lissa's safety was his concern. I was second. "Natalie's been talking about needing a dress. If you can have her convince her dad for a shopping trip with all of us invited, Dimitri would have to go. To protect Lissa." 

"You know there's no dance in my future, I'm still in prison." 

"Lissa isn't going to want to go without you. And Victor seemed like he likes you. Both he and Dimitri would probably advocate for you. You've been on mostly good behavior. And if they let you go shopping, they'll have to let you go to the dance." 

Rose's eyes lit up. "You're a genius," she grins. "An evil, manipulative genius! I didn't know you had it in you." 

"Shut up," I groan, pulling the blanket over my head. 

****

 "Come on, get up," Dimitri said as he walked into my room that night. He walked over to the window and threw the curtains open, allowing me to be assaulted by sunlight. 

"Noooo," I whined. He chuckled. 

"You wanted to go to the mall, didn't you? Get up." 

"How'd you know I was behind that?" I asked as I sat up, not bothering to hide that I was only wearing a large T-shirt to bed and boy shorts. My legs and butt were on full display for him, and I put a little extra swing in my hips when I saw that he was watching me closely. 

"Rose," he said lowly. His eyes followed me as I slowly lifted up the striped shirt over my head and tossed it in the laundry basket. I heard him clear his throat, and he turned to face the wall. I smirked, hurriedly picking out some jeans and a long sleeve black shirt. 

We had to go get Rose, and I felt my excitement built for the first time in a while. I missed shopping! We met Rose, Lissa, and Natalie out at the gates, and all three of us squealed and did a bouncing group hug. Victor Dashkov, Natalie's father, was there too, looking sicker than the first day I'd met him and flanked by his own guardians. He smiled warmly at us, patiently waiting for us to calm down and break apart.