Amnesia // Dimitri Belikov

IV

"You're dancing with her,
while I'm staring at my phone.
Stone cold, stone cold.
I was your amber,
but now she's your shade of gold."

***

Rose woke up in a bed far more comfortable than her own and quickly dressed in her guardian clothes that had until now laid neatly folded on the chair beside her bed. She walked towards the kitchen, only to see Lissa and Christian kissing passionately between the kitchen cabinets.

'Oh! You're awake,' Lissa said as she heard Rose's cough, 'we saved some breakfast for you.'

Rose glanced at the kitchen isle, were a plate with toast and scrambled eggs was displayed as if it were a cooking show. 'Thank you.'

'How did you sleep?'

'Terribly,' she answered Lissa's question before she took a bite out of her toast.

'You said something about nightmares?'

Rose nodded, her gaze flickering to Christian, Lissa must've forbidden him to say anything out of line. Because if she had not there would've been a sarcastic comment by now. 'Yeah, I don't know, I get them when I'm awake too. They're so vivid, I can't just see it, I hear it, I feel it, I smell it. It completely sucks you in.'

'What do you dream about?' Lissa asked as she took a bite out of her own toast.

'Mostly about this little girl, dead people, fire and blood. She's always screaming and...' Rose hesitated.

'What?'

'Sometimes I think it's me,' she whispered, as if the moment she'd say it out loud, it would become an undeniable fact. 'But I don't know any of these people!'

'What people?' Lissa wondered, a frown on her face.

'The dead people.'

Christian would've made a funny comment about the tension in the room, had it not been for the utter serious Rose spoke with. The look in the eyes of the girl they knew to be upbeat, sarcastic and wild, was haunted and scarier than anything he'd seen before. Even as they'd fought Strigoi during the attack, or once they'd been captured in Spokane, Rose had always seemed sure of herself. She'd always been strong, in charge. Now, Rose was scared out of her mind and that was something they hadn't seen before.

'Hey! How are the kids doing?' Tasha asked as she burst through the door, a smile covering her face and her hand wrapped around Dimitri's.

Lissa shot him a death glare, but smiled politely at Tasha, 'We're doing just fine.'

Rose got out of her seat, 'I'm going to hit the gym, I still have a couple of hours before my shift starts.'

'Oh, well, when you get back we should talk about Lissa's Guardian arrangements.'

She stopped dead in her tracks as she heard Tasha's overjoyed voice, her heart stilled. She turned around and glanced at Lissa, before turning to Tasha. 'And why is that?'

'Dimka isn't going to guard me, unfortunately. I mean, I understand, there is no higher position than the guard of the Last Dragomir. But I have been able to convince him that his family should be made aware of the fact that he's still alive. He'll take a leave and we'll go and visit Baia.'

There was a lump in Rose's throat as several images flooded her mind, Olena embracing Tasha and talking to her in Russian. Viktoria and Tasha having girl talk while coating their nails or braiding their hair. She blinked and cleared her throat, 'Well, then... tell Paul that I miss him and that I haven't forgotten about the promise I made him.'

'What did you promise Paul?' Tasha asked, a small dose of jealousy underlying her sweet tone.

'That's between him and me.'

Lissa folded her hands across her chest, 'I'm sorry, but I can't give Guardian Belikov a leave of absence.'

Rose's eyes widened, she knew Lissa was pissed and protective, but denying Dimitri the right to tell his family he was alive, was another level of cruel.

'Why not?' Tasha asked.

'He's one of my best Guardians and I need him at Court, there are some changes going on and I'll need the protection. What I can however do, is invite his family to come here. I promise to take care of all the costs, they will have a comfortable guest stay here.'

Rose's eyes widened as she turned to her best friend, 'Extra protection? What's going on? You need to inform me about these things, I'm your head Guardian.'

Lissa bit her lip, 'Well, I'd been planning on bringing this differently, but... the queen has decided that I'm a worthy successor to the throne. And not every Royal family will be... as excited as her.'

A slight smile crept on Rose's lips, 'Queen Vasilisa Rhea Dragomir, I like the sound of that.'

'It does sound quite good, doesn't it?' Lissa asked as she raised her eyebrow, a giggle escaping her lips. 'Anyway, Guardian Belikov, your family can stay here for as long as they wish. The Dragomir wing is completely empty anyway.'

'Thank you, Princess,' Dimitri thanked her and Rose could tell it was genuine.

But she hadn't forgotten the fact that he was about to go to Russia, with Tasha. Her heart ached as she the recurring words pierced her mind once again. Love fades. Mine has.

'Well, like I said, I'm going to the gym. When I get back, I'll go straight to Guardian Croft and assemble a new Guardian team. You're going to need a lot more Guardians if you're going to be Queen.'

'Rose?' Lissa asked, as she was about to leave, 'Can you try and get me Eddie? According to Mia, he's stuck with some Zeklos. He does his duty, but he's treated like a servant.'

'I'll get him on the top of my list,' Rose promised, her heart aching as she thought of her friend being treated as nothing but scum. And she felt the sudden urge to punch everything within sight, good thing she was going to the gym.