A Friend and a New Future (A VA Fanfic)

Chapter 6

RPOV
"Come in!" summoned Hans. I walked in his office, his eyes bugged and his jaw dropped. "Wh-what happened to you, Hathaway?"
"It's Ozera, Hans. And what does it look like?"
"O-Ozera? What do you mean? And it looks like the rumour of you being pregnant is true."
"Well, thanks for sorting out whether or not I'm pregnant when it's not obvious." Hans rolled his eyes and shook his head in exasperation. "And what do I mean by Ozera?" I brought both hands up to rest on the bump Annie was creating, giving Hans a clear view of my engagement and wedding rings that were on my left ring finger. "I may-or may not-have married Christian. And little Annie here," I lovingly rubbed my bump while grinning like a fool, "might just be our unborn daughter."
I think my boss just turned as pale as a Moroi at the admission, my face and the reality.
"Lady Ozera," oh good god. Not a royal title! I was content just to run with Mrs or Guardian Ozera. Especially because marrying me should eventuate in him being stripped of his Lordship not me gaining a Ladyship.
"Just keep it as Guardian Ozera, Hans," I sighed. "And why are we needed? Belikov barely managed to tell me we were needed here."
"Technically, Rose, you're a royal. That means you ought to be addressed as such."
"Yet, I am still a guardian. Christian may be my husband, but he is also my charge."
"He's rubbed off on you, in a good way. Now, as for why you are here... I am assuming you don't know of the two new legislations now that the graduation age has returned to eighteen?"
"No. I don't know of them."
I narrowed my eyes in thought. Since I was back in mainstream society, I had to readjust back into the games royals play. Tatiana especially.
"Moroi are allowed to learn, and to, fight alongside their guardians."
"I'm missing something here. That sounds like one legislative move, not two."
Man, my husband had rubbed off on me. I could do more than seriously think straight. I could likely play those royal games too since I now knew what to look for. I also damn well knew the terms and the convoluted sentence formations.
"One is for offensive magic. The other is hand-to-hand combat." It clicked within milliseconds.
"Once again, I'm being played by Her Majesty. I figured out she forced me into speaking for lowering the graduation age. I now know she purposely asked me questions that made an example of me.
"This time, she's using Christian And I as an example. We've been a pioneering pair. An ideal example of how well and how effective a kick-ass magic user and badass guardian pairing can work to save both Moroi and dhampir lives.
"She's been tracking us somehow. Even though Christian is supposedly as ostracised as Tasha, his actions with me have clearly spoken louder to Her Majesty than Tasha's political movements."

My mind was spinning. And yes, even I recognised just how very much so I sounded like a royal just then.

"You sound like a royal. A humble one, but one nonetheless."
"Thanks," I snorted sarcastically. "Even I just realised that. You're right, Chris has rubbed off on me. Anyway. Back to the fallout of Chris and I being played. What is it Her Majesty wants with me and my husband?" I loved calling him that.

Vasilisa was going to blow a fuse when she found out. Especially when she learned I was carrying his child, the child they had checked his bloodline for to see if he could help pass on the Dragomir name.

"Both of you are to teach combined classes how to fight as a pair, with Tasha and Belikov as your teaching assistants. Christian and Tasha will teach combatant magic. Meanwhile you and Belikov will teach regular hand-to-hand combat to both Moroi
specialised Self-Protection classes and regular novice classes."

Oh, this is going to get interesting, very interesting indeed. I'd told Dimitri to take Tasha's offer to experience the joy of expecting a child. And because Aunt Tasha was family and I wanted her to be able to experience that same joy with him. She couldn't, and hadn't, hurt him. Not like the way I had, time and again, all thanks to being a lovesick teenage girl in an illegal romance with her then twenty-four year old mentor and who couldn't give him a family then or ever. Tasha could give him that family and the easy relationship he needed after going through all he had. So, by this time next year I hope it's Aunt Tasha expecting Dimitri's baby. Hopefully, potentially alongside me expecting a second of Christian's babies.