Charlotte

Chapter Twenty-Four

A/N: This is it! The LAST chapter!  There's smut in this one, but not until the second half. I'll mark it so you don't have to read it if you don't want to. 

There was a small argument on whether or not I should get Molnija marks with Rose. I told Dimitri that I really didn't want them. It'd been a long recovery from all of my injuries, even if the process was accelerated by the whatever genes inside me. I felt brittle, but also two weeks after the incident in Spokane, I was walking again, and while I was still sore, my broken ribs were healed enough that I didn't cry every time I moved, and the bruises were beginning to yellow.

The weather had warmed enough that the snow was beginning to melt, and although winter was still far from being over, it felt like spring. I couldn't find it in me to be happy, though. A dark cloud had taken up residence over everyone who knew Mason Ashford. It was like there was a hollowness in my gut, and seeing Rose looking like a homeless person and crying all the time didn't help. I spent a lot of the time in her room, pushing her unbrushed, greasy hair out of her red, puffy eyes. She felt that her being awarded the tattoo was a sick punishment, rather than the honor it was meant to be. She's the only novice in this country to have killed a Strigoi and come back to talk about it. 

I stood behind Dimitri, watching as Rose approached us in the guardians' building, looking numb to the world. Her face was completely neutral, emotionless. 

She looked like a guardian. 

The carpet she walked on was a blue-gray and tightly woven. Her footfalls were muted and dull with her slow pace. The walls were white, and bare of any decoration that wasn't a framed black and white photo of St. Vladimir; as the guardians were accustomed to. Simplicity and minimalist, these were the things a guardian are used to. Besides that, all of the guardians on campus were in attendance. No students. I was allowed in simply because Rose had requested it and it would have been me walking with her if I'd said I wanted the marks. Rose didn't have a choice, and I did...that felt like a weight on me, even if I knew it was what she had strived for. 

She sat on a stool in the corner of the room, leaning forward with her hair pushed over the front of her head, baring her neck to Dimitri, who held a tattoo gun gently in his hand. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, but it was too low for me to hear. I bit my lip as he stood back up, only leaning forward enough to gently press the needle to the back of her neck. I heard her intake of breath as the pain started, but she didn't flinch or make any other sound of discomfort. I hoped she could sense my pride in her, even if she was feeling too bad to feel it in herself. 

When he was done, Alberta handed him a small hand mirror, which he gave to Rose. She stared at them like time had stopped for her. That mark would represent Isaiah, but it would also be a constant reminder of Mason. The friend that had loved her, and who had died defending her. 

When she looked away from the lightning shaped marks on her neck, Dimitri took the mirror and bandaged the marks, concealing it from world. Rose sat up, flattening her hair to hide the white bandage. Everyone lined up on their way out to show some sort of support. Some kissing her on the cheek, others simply patting her on the shoulder or on the back. I stood next to Dimitri, patiently waiting for the crowd to thin out. I hooked my pinky with his and leaned into his side, seeking my own comfort which he happily provided. 

When it was our turn, Dimitri didn't say anything. He just cupped her cheek gently, nodded, and let go of me to walk away. I threw my arms around her as she swallowed back her tears. Her arms wrapped around my waist, and she cleared her throat as she nuzzled into my loose curls. I kissed the corner of her mouth, and then let go of her to meet Dimitri who had paused at the door to wait for me, allowing Stan and Rose's mom to be the last to embrace her. I watched in solemnness as the tears finally broke free as Janine approached and gently-more gently than I thought she was capable of-wiped away the tears.