Amnesia // Dimitri Belikov

XII

"Take me into your loving arms,
kiss me under the light of a thousand stars.
Place your hand on my beating heart."
***

'I knew Dimka would come around!' Viktoria squealed as she grabbed Rose's arm and dragged her inside the Belikova residence.

Rose smiled and bit her lip as she walked inside, knowing that Dimitri was right behind her. Sonja hugged him and asked, 'So? What made you finally get your head out of your-'

'Sonja,' Olena warned kindly.

Dimitri's eyes flickered to Rose, whom gave him a nod, 'The Princess pushed Roza too far and that combined with the darkness made her break down. I just couldn't watch, I couldn't- I realised that of all the things I did to hurt her, my words had hurt most. And I couldn't live knowing that she would've been okay, had I not lied to her that day.'

A tear leaked from Rose's eye and Dimitri was the first to notice. He wasn't normally one for public affection, but this time he grabbed her hand and wrapped his arms around her waist. Her back pressed against his chest and a quick kiss in her hair.

'Aww,' Karolina exclaimed, grabbing her phone from the table and snapping a picture before anyone could object.

Little Paul noticed the smile on his uncles face, 'Are you happy now, uncle Dimka?'

'Yes,' he answered, without hesitation.

Paul smiled and looked at Rose, 'Are you happy too? Or sad? You said you'd be happy if Dimka was happy, but than you said you'd be sad if Dimka was happy.' A frown on his face. 'I don't get it anymore.'

Rose giggled, 'You weren't supposed to say that, remember?'

'Sorry,' he whispered quietly.

'I'm happy,' she answered his previous question, 'really happy.'

'Don't lie to us,' Yeva snapped.

Everyone turned towards her and Rose's eyes widened, 'What do you mean? I am happy.'

'But not really happy. The nightmares still haunt you and you're starting to question whether they're nightmares at all.'

Rose froze in Dimtiri's arms, 'How do you know about that?'

'Your past is catching up with you Rosemarie, so much that you've started to question everything. Even your last name. Don't lie to me, I see the necklace you're wearing.'

Rose's hand gripped the golden M around her neck and she swallowed thickly, 'Is it true?'

'That, only the Alchemist can help you with,' she responded.

'What is she going on about, Roza?' Dimitri asked, worry lacing his voice.

'She can tell us at the dinner table, Dimka, the food is ready,' Olena announced.

And hesitantly everyone followed and sat down, slowly Rose explained everything, from the necklace to the nightmares. She told about the little girl she saw, with her family and the horrific sights the girl had to see. About the time she looked into the mirror and saw the little girl, to the point where her own name was said in her dreams.

'At first I thought it was just my mind playing tricks on me,' Rose admitted, 'I mean, I've longed for a family my entire life. My mother was never there and I've never even met my father. The only family experience I had, were the notes containing criticism of my mother when she'd heard that I had rebelled in school again. Or the annual fifty dollar bill she send through the mail on my birthday.'

'She did that?' Viktoria asked, horrified as she thought of her own mother, whom had been the best she could've wished for.

Rose smirked, 'She punched me in the face too, right before the ski trip.'

'You did push her buttons,' Dimitri reminded her.

'You're supposed to be on my side, Comrade!' She hissed back, earning a giggle from Dimitri's sisters. She took a deep breath, 'Anyway... that's what I thought in the beginning. But I'm starting to question things, I've never had such vivid and lifelike dreams. I don't know what they are, maybe it's a spirit user giving me these dreams.'

'Like Adrian?' Dimitri asked.

Rose smiled, even though he hid it well, she could see the anger in his eyes and locked jaw. 'Something like that. I mean, it's not the same. My nightmares are like horror stories. And Adrian just comes to visit me, he can pick the location and what we're wearing but it's not-'

'What you're wearing?' Dimitri growled, now less controlled than before, his guardian mask faltering.

'Don't worry,' Rose replied quickly, 'he hasn't done anything to far out of line. A few short dresses here and there, sure. But never in underwear or naked. Besides, he's never seen me naked, so he wouldn't actually see me, he would just see what he expects.'

He was tensed up as he spoke with a low voice, 'That doesn't make it any better.'

She rolled her eyes and turned back to the rest of the family, 'Anyway, I think it's something more than just my mental instability. I made my peace with my mother being absent a while ago. Something is going on and I don't know what it is, so I called a friend of mine and she's going to give me more information.'

'That's a very good idea,' Olena praised her, 'but remember that you will always have a place in our family. I might not be your birth mother, but I'd really like to have another daughter.'

The words took Rose by surprise and tears rolled down her cheeks as she sputtered a: 'Thank you.'

Dimitri places his hand on her thigh to comfort her and Paul, jumped off his seat and climbed on Rose's lap. 'Auntie Roza?'

'Yes?'

'We were reading a book in school and the main character has nightmares too.'

'Really?'

'Да, but the nightmares weren't dreams.'

'No?'

He smiled as he played with her hair, 'They were memories.'