I Never Told You I Love You - Complete

Chapter 91 - Fringe Benefits

Alberta looked amused as she ran through the pre-fight instructions. She'd roped in Emil to be the second adjudicator – because as well as well as being known for being discreet he was also known for being scrupulously fair - which might be a necessary trait given how unpopular Stan was. Not wanting to do a Moriarty, Rose kept a friendly smile on her face. While she'd relish kicking Stan from here to next Tuesday, she didn't want to look too smug, or overconfident just in case he got the better of her. Stan, on the other hand, had none of that reserve. He was enjoying his moment in the sun, strutting around like a peacock, not appreciating that the majority of the Guardians and all the Novices were laughing at him, not with him!

Sitting with Lissa, Christian, Eddie, Vika, and Celeste, Dimitri had his own Guardian mask plastered on. He really wanted Rose to win, but he was conscious that people might well be looking to him for his reactions, so he made sure he looked calm and impassive. He and Lissa were sitting side-by-side, close enough that he could speak quietly and she would hear him.

"Tell her I love her, and I believe in her can you?" Dimitri asked Lissa.

Smiling benevolently, Lissa sent his words through their bond, and seconds later Dimitri saw Rose suddenly smile and look at him. It didn't matter that her bond with Lissa was one-way. He knew what Rose's eyes were telling him.

With a final wish of good luck, Alberta blew the whistle, and the fight began.

In some ways, Stan and Rose were at an equal disadvantage. Neither knew much about how the other fought, so they spent the first moments circling one another, sizing the other up. He started with an upper jab. It was slower than she might have expected but still powerful. However, Rose wasn't about to form an opinion based on his first lob. So she set out to test him. Aiming punches at various heights, she was looking for a pause or hesitation in his response. Seeing none, it was on to the next evaluation. These weren't taught in standard Novice combat lessons, they were just a little trick Dimitri had shown her for assessing unfamiliar sparring opponents. They'd be almost useless in a real Strigoi fight – but for things like this they were useful.

Rose was circling one way then turned without warning to circle Stan from the other direction. He responded, but a little more slowly than she would have expected. Rose repeated the maneuver, heading back in the original direction throwing in some punches to distract Stan from what she was doing. This time, he moved more quickly. Rose doubled back, and like last time he was slower. She mentally smiled – looks like Stan had a weakness in his right hip.

Dimitri saw it at the same time as Rose did. He could tell she'd picked it up by the way she kept going in the easier direction for Stan, mentally storing the weakness away as she formulated her attack plan.

Celeste was holding her phone up and appeared to be filming the fight. She was far from the only one, although when Dimitri heard the tinny voice of a woman with a Scottish accent yell "Chin the gobshite, Rosemarie!" he realized Celeste was doing a video call, and on the other end was undoubtedly Rose's mother.

"As soon as Leslie told them Rose was fighting Stan, they wanted to see it," Celeste explained.

"What time is it there?" Dimitri asked.

"About 2.45 in the afternoon, but they're running halfway between human and Moroi time, so they're up. Pavel's hooked it up to the TV, so they're all watching."

"We can hear you, you know," Abe's voice said irritably. "Now shut up – we're watching the fight! And hold the phone steady!"

Dimitri chuckled. He couldn't wait to tell Rose her parents had watched the fight from Turkey. He thought she'd get a giggle out of it – especially her mother's comments.