A/N: The beginning seems a bit lame, but I promise it gets better the farther in it goes!!
Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does, no matter how much I want to have my very own Dimitri. :(
DPOV:
I got off the plane, grabbing my stuff. As I walked toward the buildings of the school, without the slightest idea as to where I was going, I was met by an older female guardian.
"Alberta Petrov, head guardian," she introduced herself, a no nonsense air about her. "You must be Dimitri Belikov, the Princess's new guardian and Rose's mentor."
She certainly gets right down to the point. I thought to myself. I gave a single nod, confirming her words.
She stuck her hand out. "Welcome to the team," she said, a slight smirk on her lips, so small it was barely there.
I shook her hand. "Glad to be here," I said formally.
She spun around and began heading toward the school grounds with me following her. As we passed the buildings, she let me know what was what.
"That's the Moroi dorms, that's the feeder building, those are the academic buildings..." She continued on this way until we reached the administrative building. She paused in front of a door to what I assumed was the Headmistress's office.
Petrov knocked on the door.
"Come in," a voice called from the other side.
Petrov opened the door into, as I had assumed, an office. Sitting behind the desk was an older Moroi woman, looking severe. She didn't appear to be the kind of person who you would cross lightly. She looked up when the door opened, and Petrov and I walked in.
"Ah, Guardian Belikov, I presume?" she said, standing up.
I nodded. "Yes ma'am," I answered politely.
"Ellen Kirova, I'm the Headmistress," she said with a nod of acknowledgment. "So you are the Princess's new guardian?" she continued, looking at me sharply.
I nodded again.
"And Rosemarie's mentor," Petrov broke in, looking at Kirova meaningfully.
Kirova sighed. "I don't understand why we are bothering with her, honestly," she said, sounding faintly annoyed.
Petrov's lips tightened minutely. "We are bothering with her because her mother and father requested it. She is a very good novice, and has a promising future. Plus, you know the Princess wouldn't have it any other way."
By the sound of her voice, and how weary she seemed, I got the feeling that this wasn't the first conversation they have had about it. Which made me wonder, who was her father? And why did the Princess want a pregnant guardian, when she could have anyone she wanted? Which also brought me to the question, what did Rose do to make Kirova have that undercurrent of intense dislike in her voice?
Kirova's voice interrupted my train of thought. "Alright, I'm sure that Guardian Petrov can give you your schedule, and anything else you may need."
That was a dismissal if I ever heard one. With a last nod, both Guardian Petrov and I left the room.
She sighed as she stood in the corridor for a minute.
"Alright Belikov, let's see about your schedule and room arrangement. Now, I heard from Janine that you have experience with pregnant women?" She looked at me for a confirmation.
I nodded, thinking of two of my sisters, who had, or are having, a baby right now. I had helped Karolina through both of her pregnancies as much as possible, the most recent being only a few months ago, while Sonya had just gotten pregnant, and was not dealing with it well. She's had the worst mood swings out of both Karo and Mama, or what I could remember of Mama's pregnancy with my little sister Viktoria.
I shook off thoughts of my family, and homesickness. It had been almost 4 months since I talked to them last. I would have to fix that soon.
We stopped in front of another door, and it took me a moment to realize that we had been walking the entire time I was thinking. Careless for a guardian, especially a guardian who was to guard the last Dragomir.
We stepped into her office, and Petrov walked behind the desk, look for something.
"Ah! Here it is. This is your schedule. You'll train Rose in the morning before class, and then in the afternoon, after classes. Since Rose can't participate in hand to hand combat classes, but still goes to them, I would like for you to take those over, and teach her, instead of her just sitting there, turning green with envy, and red with anger because she can't do anything. Rose isn't one for sitting out and letting others do things for her. So I believe that it would benefit all of us if you keep her busy during those classes. Now, Rose shares almost all of her afternoon classes with Vasilisa, so I would like you to watch over the class that they have separate, which is Calculus. Other than that, if you could do the occasional round around the school, you should be okay. Now, you may think that I'm not giving you a lot to do, but trust me, you'll need all the down time you can get after mentoring Rose. That girl is a bit of a handful." Petrov smiled fondly for a moment.
"Now, Rose is an amazing young lady," she continued, looking at me seriously. "Although we may not show it, most of the guardians here have watched Rose grow up from a feisty 4 year old who was simply dropped off at the academy, to the fierce young woman she is today, and we love her. Take care of her, Belikov, and don't give up on her. She's been hurt her whole life. She's used to people giving up on her. Don't let her attitude, and any rumor about her, dissuade you. On the inside, her heart is golden. She's just prickly because she's trying to protect her heart. It wasn't until the car accident in which Rose almost died, that her mother even acknowledge the fact that she was alive in the first place. They started to repair their relationship, then her and Vasilisa ran away, and were brought back, and now the whole fiasco with the pregnancy...well it's put a great strain on her. You're probably wondering why I'm telling you all this. Well, I'm just trying to let you see that Rose deserves a chance just like anybody else. Don't let her down." Petrov finished her speech with a great sigh, and look at me, seeming worn out.
I thought about her words for a moment. I had heard some things about Rose, actually. The few people who knew her seemed to immensely dislike her due to some harm she had done to them. She was also rumored to be a whore, a blood whore to be exact. But in that moment, I decided that I wouldn't let any rumor I heard tarnish my impression until I got to truly know her.
I nodded slowly as I came to with this conclusion. "I see what you mean. But if you don't mind me asking...who is the father of Rosemarie's baby?" I asked.
Petrov smirked at that. "If you have any hope of having children in the future, or avoiding broken bones, I would advise you to not call her Rosemarie, first of all. And second, how about you tell me who the father is once you find out, so I can kill the bastard."
I looked at her with surprise. "You don't know?"
Petrov shook her head and stood up. "No, and I'm not going to pry. If she wants to tell me, then she will. I can tell there is more to the story than it appears. However she got pregnant, the bastard hurt her. And that I will not tolerate it. Now let me show you your room. I'm sure you're tired from a day of traveling."
With that, she walked out, me trailing behind her. I was tired and a bit jet lagged. It was going on 24 hours since I last slept. Ivan had been very sad to see me go, so he threw me a mini going away party, after which I had to rush to my plane.
I followed Petrov to the guardian building, and up the stairs to my room. She paused in front of the door, giving me a key.
"Take care of her Belikov," she said meaningfully, then turned around and walked away, leaving me to unpack, take a shower, and go to sleep, preparing for a long day tomorrow.