Vampire Academy DPOV

Chapter Six

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                                                                                  Chapter Six

Over the past three weeks Rose and I had developed a routine. Early in the morning before her usual school time practices we'd have workout sessions for about an hour. I started with the basics: running, running and more running. During my time as a student, my instructor and mentor Galina had instilled in me the importance of stamina. At the time, I felt much the same as I'm sure Rose did, that I'd needed to learn to throw kicks and punches in order to survive. Although technique was important too, Galina had taught me it was stamina that gave you the strength to use those techniques for an extended amount of time. Many underestimated the strength of Strigoi, and I wanted to make sure Rose wasn't one of them.

Early one morning, I was in the small gym where Rose and I had been meeting for our daily practice sessions. I usually always arrived early to set up whatever materials we used that day, but finally catching on to Rose's schedule, I had been smart enough to bring a book while I waited for her to roll out of bed and run over in order not to be late. After our session the night before, I had noticed someone had brought in a CD player, so this morning I took full advantage of that. When Rose walked in I was rereading one of my favourite western novels and listening to a favourite 80's mix of mine.

I knew exactly when she walked into the room, a fact that surprised me and bothered me for some reason. Instead of acknowledging her I continued reading as she walked up to me and slung her bag on the ground. From my peripheral vision, I saw her crinkle her nose as she said, "Whoa, Dimitri. I realize this is actually a current hit in Eastern Europe right now, but do you think we could maybe listen to something that wasn't recorded before I was born?"

Without moving my head up I flicked my eyes toward her and said, "What does it matter to you? I'm the one who's going to be listening to it. You'll be outside running."

She made a face at me and began stretching her hamstring, placing her foot on the bar that ran around one of the walls. "Hey," she asked, moving on to the next leg, "what's with all the running, anyway? I mean, I realize the importance of stamina and all that, but shouldn't I be moving on to something with a little hitting? They're still killing me in group practice."

"Maybe you should hit harder," I replied drily, still looking down at my book.

"I'm serious."

"Hard to tell the difference." I finally gave up on my book and set it down, still sprawled in my chair. "My job is to get you ready to defend the princess and defeat dark creatures, right?"

"Yup."

I decided to throw a curveball at her. "So tell me this: suppose you manage to kidnap her again and take her off to the mall. While you're there, a Strigoi comes at you. What will you do?"

"Depends on what store we're in." I just looked at her. I was attempting to teach her something, but of course she just had to be a smartass. I wondered if this was how Galina felt in the beginning with me.

"Fine. I'll stab him with a silver stake." Expecting an answer along those lines, I sat up and crossed my legs. "Oh?" I said, raising my eyebrows. "Do you have a silver stake? Do you even know how to use one?"

She looked away from me and scowled at the wall, annoyed I had stumped her. I barely managed to hold back a smile.

After a minute she said, "Okay. I'll cut his head off."