Dimitri's POV in Vampire Academy (Fanfic)

Chapter 5

Rose blinked up at me, the liveliness returning to her eyes.

‘Are you all right?’ I demanded, searching for any after-effects of what had just occurred to her.

‘I…yeah,’ she began a little shakily, ‘I was…I was with Lissa…’ She put a hand to her forehead, and I remembered the touch of her warm, tan skin. ‘I was in her head.’

Confused, I stared at her disbelievingly. ‘Her…head?’

‘Yeah.’ She glanced around her, probably to check that nobody had witnessed the incident. ‘It’s part of the bond.’ She didn’t elaborate further, and she didn’t need to. Never once had I come across something like this; never had I read about it, and I had read a lot.

Could it be one of the traits of the bond – that a guardian could just slip into the mind of their Moroi and experience the world through their eyes? Perhaps that is what enabled Rose to protect Vasilisa during those two years. If she could enter Vasilisa’s mind, she could easily find out what she was doing, where she was located – if she was in danger. It was a miraculously convenient way of guarding a Moroi. Suddenly, I felt a new wave of respect for Rose. She did really have many, hidden talents.

I recalled the fear and confusion I had fleetingly seen flash across her face, and was suddenly worried that something may have happened to the princess. ‘Is she all right?’

‘Yeah, she’s…’ Rose hesitated, obviously choosing her words carefully. She remained silent for a while, and I waited patiently. ‘She’s not in danger,’ she finally declared, and I relaxed.

‘Can you keep going?’ I gave her a once-over. Physically, she was fine. Mentally? I wasn’t so sure. I regarded her, searching for any signs of instability. I needed her to be clear-headed and focused at practice. I also hoped that she would be willing to talk about anything that bothered her. I was her mentor now, after all – it was my job to help her. Hell, I wanted to help her, regardless whether it was my job or not.

‘Yeah. I’m fine.’ She steeled herself, a determined look replacing her earlier uneasy one. I was glad for the transformation – this was the Rose I knew, the Rose that reflected me, or the me I used to be.

We walked in surprisingly comfortable silence towards the gym, and once inside, Rose darted into the gym’s dressing room without saying a word. I stood, stunned, then shrugged and sauntered over to the set-up area, where I waited while she got ready.

After a few minutes, she emerged wearing the workout clothes I’d left for her earlier. She trudged over to me, and I was disappointed that she looked tired and lazy instead of rigid and ready. She came to a stop a few metres away from me, crossing her arms.

‘Hey, Comrade, maybe you should let me off this time.’

What? Seriously? Unable to withhold it, I laughed out loud at her, truly humoured by her ridiculous attempt to skip class. As if I was ever going to let a student skip my class.

She narrowed her eyes at me, and I couldn’t help but think she looked rather adorable standing there, all grumpy and pouty like the ever-typical teen.

‘Why is that funny?’ she said angrily. Why, she asks.

‘Oh.’ I let my smile drop then, because her lack of dedication troubled me. Had I mistaken the tangible passion in her earlier? ‘You were serious.’

‘Of course I was!’ she exclaimed, her arms dropping, fists balling up at her side. ‘Look, I’ve technically been awake for two days. Why do we have to start this training now? Let me go to bed,’ she whined. ‘It’s just one hour.’