“It looks perfect,” he commented. His voice was like music to her ears.

Rose held out her left hand, admiring the ring on her finger. The diamond in the centre refracting the afternoon sun into fragments of rainbows. It truly was a rockstar ring. But why are there sapphires instead of opals on the edge?

Dimitri took her right hand to his lips, breaking her out of her trance. He kissed each fingertip with the gentlest touch.

“Can you believe we’ve been married for 3 years already?” He sighed in contentment.

A rare day off for the two of them, they decided to go have a picnic at a park. There was a hedge maze in the distance in front of the manor. Basked in the warm sunlight in Dimitri’s arms, Rose felt satiated.

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into it so soon,” She said with confidence but she was having trouble placing the memory. Did they get married in the church at St Vlad’s? Why couldn’t she remember?

“What can I say? I made pretty convincing arguments,” boasted Dimitri as he fed Rose a chocolate-covered strawberry.

His warm smile was plenty convincing right now. She willed the nausea building in her stomach to subside.

“When did you become so smug, Comrade?”

“Since I got you to walk down the aisle to me.”

—

Kids were running around, a brother and sister chasing each other in a game of tag.

Dimitri tried to hide the look of longing in his eyes, but Rose picked up on it immediately.

“I know. I wish I could give you what you want,” Rose murmured to him as he nuzzled her neck.

“I just need you. I’ve wanted you for so long, it’s hard to believe you are mine,” he confessed.

He pulled her into his lap, brushing the loose curls out of her face. Her hands rested on his chest. Panic flooded Rose’s senses.

Where was his heartbeat?

“I will always love you,” Dimitri promised, wrapping his arms around her even tighter.

That’s what I’m supposed to say

The scene around them changed. The warmth of the sun was gone, replaced by chilling winds.

Brown eyes shifted to the red ones that haunted her nightmares.

She backed away immediately, pulling out her stake from his chest.

“That’s what I was supposed to say…” his voice echoed.

She watched helplessly as Dimitri plunged into the depths of the Ob.

SPLASH!

She woke up in a cold sweat.

Rose grasped the bedside table for her alarm clock, but it wasn’t necessary. The sun streaming through the sheer shades was enough to tell her it was far too early for her to be awake.

She looked at her left hand like she did in the dream. There was a ring on that finger. The one people put wedding rings on. But there was no diamond, only a band of pure silver.

The nausea was gone, but the ache in her chest remained. Defeated, Rose picked up her phone to make a call.

“Lissa? It happened again.”

Nobody's heard from me for months I'm doing better than I ever was

Dimitri hears her arrive before she comes through the door. His day had been almost silent until then. The jingle of keys as they drop from Rose’s hand to the trinket tray. The thump of Rose’s boots on the floor as she takes them off. It’s the familiar rhythm of their day to day routine. He places his book on the empty coffee table to greet Rose at the door.

'Cause my baby's fit like a daydream Walkin' with his head down, I'm the one he's walkin' to

Dimitri spots it immediately. It’s golden. Golden like the sun. The small pendant shines from where the collar of her shirt is undone. She’s not in uniform today.

Rose puts down her bag and stretches out her arms. She seems lost in her own thoughts as she makes her way to the kitchen island. Dimitri follows. She sits on her favourite chair, a bar stool that was bought from a pub closing down near Lehigh 5 years ago. It puts her at the perfect height to rest her head on Dimitri’s chest. An action she does today.

Dimitri kisses her on the top of her head but it isn’t enough. Rose pulls him down to give him a proper kiss after a day spent apart.

“Had a good day shopping with Lissa?” Dimitri asks as he pulls back.

“Well, let’s just say that Lissa might need a new palace wing with the damage we did today,” She responds with a laugh that’s a bit forced.

Despite their previous bond, Rose and Lissa’s dynamic has shifted. Best friends forever, they promised. But the responsibility of protecting the most important person in the moroi world was sure to change how the two behaved.

Rose was no longer Lissa’s sole protector. Lissa was no longer Rose’s only priority.

Still, on rare days like these, they get to put their responsibilities on hold. They can ignore the fact one is Queen and one is her sworn protector. They are just two young women on a well deserved shopping trip after months of hard work.

“Did you get anything for yourself?” He asks more as a courtesy than actual curiosity.

“Like you didn’t notice?” Rose can’t help but smile at his attempt to be anything but the observant guardian that he is.

Her hand fiddles with the chain. She’s made a good choice, Dimitri thinks. The chain sits on her collarbone. The length is just short enough an assailant can’t use it to choke her. Even with an indulgent purchase, she still thinks of it’s practicality.

At her invitation, Dimitri takes a closer look. It’s luxurious for sure, but it’s not opulent. The gold disk is smaller than a penny and a capital letter B is stamped into the center of the pendant.

I want to wear his initial On a chain 'round my neck, chain 'round my neck Not because he owns me But 'cause he really knows me

“B for Belikov?”

“Do you like it?” She whispers. Her tone is soft, she sounds unsure.

The question hangs in the air for a while. They both think back to the first time she asked a similar question.

You see something you like?

It feels like a lifetime ago. Looking at her now, Dimitri can only feel a sense of adoration at the woman she’s become.

“It suits you.”

Dimitri’s always been a man of few words, but they always seem to be the right ones. He wasn’t lying. The gold suits her tanned skin. Rose never liked to wear jewellery, it interfered too much with training. She doesn’t even wear her rings on a daily basis. Her engagement ring and wedding band are kept in a safe. Dimitri can’t be one to judge. His ring is hidden as well, safely tucked inside his shirt on the same chain as a silver cross.

“Well, I lied. It’s stands for Belikova née Hathaway-Mazur, actually. But it can be for Belikov for short.”

“It’s still your last name.”

“Your last name,” she counters.

“My last name,” he confirms.

“Mine,” she counters. She’s not talking about her last name anymore.

“Yours,” he confirms. His heart - no, his soul - is hers.

Lips meet and his hands cradles her face. So many of their conversations end like this now. They don’t need words so much as they need actions. Reassurance. This is real. This moment feels like a secret even though they have nothing to hide. Not here anyway.

She brings his hands down from her face to her abdomen. She says something. It’s just one word but it takes his breath away.

Ours.

It’s still so new to them. The idea of their baby. Their little miracle.

And I know I make the same mistakes every time Bridges burn, I never learn, at least I did one thing right I did one thing right

The apartment feels too small now. Once upon a time, the one bedroom apartment was the biggest luxury the couple had invested in. It’s been their safe space, just far enough away from Court to escape the toxic gossip cycles and prying eyes.

It felt like all their dreams had come true. Dream allocation, dream home, dream wedding. But now they have a new dream. A dream that is much bigger than just the two of them.

They’ll be moving soon. Back to Baia, closer to family. They still have the same roles to play: Guarding the most important person in the moroi world.

Dimitri pulls Rose to him in a gentle hug.

“I’m scared too,” he admits.

It’s quiet in the apartment.

Holdin' my breath, slowly I said "You don't need to save me But would you run away with me?" Yes (would you run away?)

Eventually, Rose peels away from Dimitri’s grasp, muttering something about how he’s made her all sweaty. She heads towards the bathroom for a much needed shower and Dimitri turns to the kitchen to get dinner ready. It’s their routine.

“Any name ideas yet?” Rose asks from the bathroom.

“We’ll call it what you want to.”

Call it what you want, yeah, call it what you want To

A year later, Rose buys two more pendants to add to the chain. All gold and stamped with a B. Lissa’s new secondary guardian asks what they represent

Dimitri should not have been nervous. They’ve managed to keep it to themselves for weeks, enjoying the new relationship in private.

What he wasn’t prepared for was that dress. That green, green dress. It was kryptonite.

Rose had just entered the Belikova home for their annual New Year’s party. The living room was filled with families from the neighborhood, all wanting to celebrate the past year. Dimitri was making his way through the crowd but Viktoria beat him to the door.

“Rose! You made it!” Viktoria squealed as she hugged her.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Rose replied, hugging Viktoria back in return. Rose only met the youngest Belikova when she returned home for the holidays but they were becoming fast friends.

Dimitri finally made it to the entryway when he overheard his sister.

“You look gorgeous! You must tell me where you got that dress?”

Rose turned around almost sheepishly from hanging her coat on the rack.

“It’s not too much, is it? There weren’t many options at the thrift store,” Rose glanced towards to crowd inside, sighing in relief when she noticed she wasn’t the only one dressed to the nines.

“It’s thrifted? It looks like it was made for you," Viktoria continued with her compliments.

Hearing the pause, Dimitri took the chance to enter the conversation.

“I have to agree with that sentiment. You look beautiful, Roza.”

Deep, dark velvet hugs your silhouette Black silk stockings, you're my Juliet

The dress was emerald green velvet. A halter neck with twenty buttons down the back. Rose wore it with black silk stockings and a pair of low black slingback heels.

Rose shot Dimitri a devilish grin. “You don’t look too bad yourself, Comrade.”

This was as dressed up as Dimitri would get in his family’s home. A navy turtleneck paired with crisp black slacks. He ran his hand through his hair at the comment. The movement drew attention to a new accessory, a silver chain with a cross. A Christmas present from Rose.

Sensing the shift in tone and the longing looks the pair were giving each other, Viktoria mumbled an excuse about finding her baby niece and excused herself.

Dimitri guided her through the living room to the kitchen where his mother was stationed at the island. “Rose! So glad you could make it! Please help yourself to anything you like,” said Olena.

They left the kitchen with heaping servings of Olivier salad and sparkling wine.

They mingled and danced for hours. Fireworks were set off in the backyard. Many shots were drunk. They wanted to be subtle but the dress proved to be too much. Dimitri could not keep his hands off her and Rose relished in the feeling.

Unlike the New Year’s parties of her past, most of which she was just accompanying Lissa, Rose did not feel alone in the crowd. She didn’t feel like an outsider intruding. The Belikova’s had insisted she be a part of the family photo. With her arms around Karolina and Dimitri, she couldn’t help but feel like she was home somehow.

It felt like not long after the party had started, it had quieted down. Midnight had come and gone and it was a brand new year.

Let's find a chair where we can sit and talk Or get some fresh air, maybe we could take a walk Tell me what you're thinkin', talk about your day Tell me what to do, I'll do anything you say

Most of the guests had returned home and the younger children were put to bed. Rose and Dimitri had finished cleaning up a while ago but they were hesitant to leave immediately after.

They went out to the patio for some fresh air, hoping to cool off from the alcohol. Dimitri held Rose close as they swayed to a soft 80’s pop ballad he had saved on his phone, listening through a pair of wired earbuds.

Dimitri stopped suddenly when he noticed something on the ceiling.

“I thought Adrian had taken down all the Christmas decorations.”

Rose looked to where Dimitri was and spotted the mistletoe decorated with red and gold ribbon.

“Just kiss me, Comrade. I’ve been waiting all night."

With a request like that, Dimitri had to oblige. They met in the middle for a soft kiss.

“Maybe, we could do a little more than just kissing,” he whispered as he leaned down to kiss her neck.

Rose’s eyes widened as she remembered where they were. On the patio of his family home and his family still inside.

“Who are you and what have you done with Dimitri?”

“You asked me what my resolution is. I want to open up more. I don’t want to hide what we have.”

Rose was taken aback by this declaration, albeit a slightly drunken one, but a declaration nonetheless.

“I need to know what Vika snuck into the wine to get you this affectionate.”

“Nothing at all. It’s you, Roza. It’s always just you. You don’t know what you do to me sometimes.”

Rose wasn’t blind, she could see the look in his eyes whenever she teased him. She knows the effect she has on him. However, it was nothing compared to the desire that grew in her that only his words of adoration could bring out. He wants her but he also wants all of her. Not just her body but her soul as well. That’s why she loves him.

“I believe you have another present to unwrap.”

They managed to make it to his car before the buttons were completely undone.

Rose could already hear Dimitri's 80s playlist blasting through the speaker when she made her way to the gym for their usual 5 PM session. Five minutes late as per usual, because it was punishment enough making her get up this early.

She expected to see Dimitri with his head buried in another one of his Westerns but, she was pleasantly surprised with what she found. Somehow, Dimitri hadn’t noticed her coming in and was in deep concentration doing a set of reps. Of kettlebell reps. Only he wasn’t lifting it as high as he should be.

Then the realisation hit her that she could finally teach him something for a change.

“That’s not how you do kettlebell swings, Comrade,” Rose announced to him and the empty gym.

“You’re late again, Rose,” Dimitri sighed as he put down the kettlebell, turning to look at her. Only to be greeted with her wide grin. His expression turned to one of confusion.

“What are you so happy about?”

“You weren’t doing kettlebell swings properly.” She stated as she walked towards him.  Her grin grew wider as she took in his confusion.

“Are we really having this conversation right now?" Dimitri's arms folded across his chest. "You were late again, Rose. You want to discuss how you’re not taking these sessions seriously?”  

“Stop changing the subject! I finally know something you don’t!”

“They’re standard kettlebell swings. I don’t know what you want me to tell you.”

Rose scoffed at that response. “Yeah, in Russia, maybe. But over here, that’s not how you do it.”

He arched an eyebrow curiously. “Fine, warm-up and then show me how you would do it.”

A few laps and 10 minutes of stretches later, the pair were back at the weights. Rose made a big show of looking over all the kettlebell weights before picking up a standard 15lb one.

“I have to ask if you’re ready for this, Comrade. It might blow you away. Liss and I learnt this from that one pilates class we took.”

“I’m sure it will, Roza.”

Rose got into position, then swung the kettlebell over her head and down. Then up and down. And up. And down. On this last swing, however, her eye caught the door opening. Before she realised what was about to happen, the kettlebell slipped from her grasp. Instead of the expected thud of the weight hitting the padded floors, a furious yell erupted from the entrance.

“HATHAWAY!”

The kettlebell had landed precisely on the foot of the Guardian who had just entered the gym to set up for his morning sessions.

The kettlebell had landed on Guardian Alto's foot.

Poor Penmanship

It was a cold morning at St. Vladimir’s Academy. It was 5 PM. The sun had already set, leaving Rose to walk towards the gym in the darkness. 

Still rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she pushed open the door to an empty gym. 

Plopping herself down on the mat, she turned her head to see what torture was in store for her this morning. However, she couldn’t read the writing. 

Rose rubbed her eyes again. 

Nope. Still a blur. Either she had sudden vision deterioration or Dimitri’s handwriting had become completely illegible overnight. She decided on the latter. 

She was still perplexed by the ink on the board when the rest of the lights turned on, announcing the arrival of one Dimitri Belikov. 

“Are you pulling my leg, Comrade?” She called out to him, squinting at the board, trying to decode what was on the board. 

Dimitri dropped his gym bag by the weights before addressing her. 

“What do you mean, Rose? I’m not pulling anything?”

She got up on her feet. 

“It’s an expression. I mean, what is this joke on the whiteboard?” Her finger pointed at the offending whiteboard for emphasis. 

Dimitri glanced behind her.

“It’s your reps for today like we discussed,” Dimitri explained. 

“Well, for such a big book nerd I didn’t expect your penmanship to be this poor. Did they not teach you cursive in that frozen tundra of yours?”

A deep chuckle escaped from him. Before he spoke again, he took a second to choose his response wisely. 

“Rose. This is cursive.” 

“This is just squiggles!” 

Dimitri couldn’t help but smirk at Rose’s wide-eyed reaction. Her expression turned into a frown. 

“This is Russian Cursive. I must have written in like this since we were in a rush yesterday.” 

Rose wasn’t satisfied with that answer. 

“And yes, I did learn cursive in school. Much like you did if I recall correctly,” Dimitri began walking away to set up for their session, signalling the end of the conversation. 

Feeling confused for the millionth time today, the wheels in Rose’s head were turning slowly. 

“Oh, right. That was how Liss and I met,” Rose murmured to herself.

The rest of the session went on without any other major revelation. 

Rose walked up to Dimitri as he wrote down the sets for their afternoon session (in English, he was not making the same mistake twice). 

“I expect you to start teaching me some things in Russian,” Rose said offhandedly. 

“Why the sudden interest in linguistics?” Dimitri said, still focused on writing. 

“If you’re going to be my partner, I’m going to need to know you’re not keeping any secrets from me,” Rose’s voice was now more assertive. “I need to know I can trust you.” 

He put down the pen. He placed his hands on her shoulders, which made her look him in the eyes. Rose was fighting back against her cheeks that were threatening to flush redder than they already were. 

“I promise that there will be no secrets between you and me,” Dimitri said earnestly. 

Rose’s heart hammered in her chest at that statement. That promise.

“- - As long as it is concerned with the Princess’s safety.” 

Rose felt like someone doused her with cold water. The Princess. Lissa. Her responsibility. The responsibility they both shared. 

Her thoughts were still thundering in her head as she sat down for breakfast that morning. Lissa was stuck in a conversation with Natalie about Aaron and Mia. When Lissa noticed Rose’s glum face, she sent a quick thought through the bond. 

Is everything ok? 

Rose smiled and nodded. 

“Just starving, as usual,” Rose replied. 

Lissa was drawn back into the conversation and Rose could feel through the bond that her concern for her friend was quickly forgotten. 

When Rose’s mind was finally clear, there was just one thought that remained. 

“Keep those toes up if you can!” Dimitri barked the order to the class.

“I’ll keep my legs up too if he wants,” murmured a woman a few rows behind Rose and Lissa.

“Remind me again why we agreed to do this?” Rose whispered to Lissa.

Rose was well aware of why they were doing this. This being a summer course for Royal Moroi looking to enrol in Christian’s defensive magic course in the fall.

—

When they first started training Moroi in defensive magic, they realised a glaring fault in their plans. Moroi had no stamina whatsoever. Within ten minutes of Christian’s fire drills, his students were exhausted. So it was Christian’s great idea to ask Dimitri to teach a physical conditioning class once a week.

“Rose was able to catch up with her peers after a few months with you! Imagine what you can achieve with out of shape Royal Moroi,” Christian explained weeks ago at dinner, ignoring the death glare Rose aimed at him.

Trying to set a good example for her people, Lissa decided to join in as well.

“Are you sure you want me leading class?” Dimitri was hesitant, too aware of the dirty looks he still received on a daily basis, from both Moroi and Dhampir.

“If anything it will prove to others how non-Strigoi you are! What kind of Strigoi would be patient enough to teach a gym class?”

—

Which is how on a Friday evening, a group of thirty Moroi were assembled in a newly refurbished gym room doing a set of thirty Russian Twists.

Twist, elbow, ground, up, hold.

“I don’t think Rupert would notice if I needed extra coaching time,” the woman’s friend responded.

Twist, elbow, ground, up, hold.

“Maybe we can arrange for some private sessions,” the woman whispered excitedly.

Rose wanted to turn around and give those women a piece of her mind. Her man was not someone to ogle at or proposition.

A peek at the clock on the wall gave Rose some reprieve.

Only fifteen more minutes. She could handle this for fifteen more minutes.

Twist, elbow, ground, up, hold.

“Great job everyone, I am seeing major improvement from many of you. Let’s take a 5 minute break.”

Rose stood up to go grab water when Dimitri’s voice rang through the room again.

“Guardian Hathaway, may I see you for a moment?”

The attention in the room was on her as she made her way to the front.

“If anyone would like extra sessions, Guardian Castile would be happy to assist you. My fiancée and I will be on leave soon to celebrate our engagement.”

It was still new to hear Dimitri calling her his fiancée, but to say it in front of a group of Royal Moroi was daring.

What he did next shocked her even more.

He pulled her in for a searing kiss. Passionate but brief, Dimitri pulled away far too quickly for Rose’s liking. But it didn’t matter.

As she looked at the group, Rose smirked at the disgusted faces of the two gossiping women earlier. Her claim was clear.

The boy is mine.