Chapter Text
'Mom! Mom mom mom mom!' Two little voices yelled from outside my door.
'What?' I groaned pulling the covers over my head.
I was so tired. Partying till 3 am, even for your best friend's bachelorette party, did not make my early mornings any easier to bear. The door burst open and my twins ran at me, easily jumping up onto the high bed. Alexei and Veronika, the light and joy of my life, promptly started jumping on me.
'Mooom! Auntie Lissa's here. She says its urgent.' Veronika laughed.
She looked so much like her father, her dark brown hair and dark eyes paired with her infinite patience with life. Her brother, Alexei, was more like me, rash, straightforward, sarcastic and always in trouble. He had my curly, brown hair and eyes but his father's height. Unfortunately for her, Veronika had my height genes.
'Ok, go put on cartoons. I'll be there in a sec.'
'Yay!' They clambered off my bed and thundered out of the room and down the stairs.
I pushed off the covers and got dressed in my guardian uniform. Once I was presentable I made my way downstairs. The house we lived in had been built less than six months ago, just after Lissa had decided to return to the campus of St Vlads for the two months before her wedding.
Queen Vasilisa Dragomir, my best friend and charge, was in the kitchen, making coffee while the twins told her about school they had started three months ago in September. I watched as they talked and laughed with each other. Who knew that 6 year olds could be so good at conversation?
'Morning Liss.' I smiled.
She handed me my coffee, probably my first of many today. I had a day of meetings and paperwork. I had classes in the morning then I had to organise and prepare the security for Lissa and Christian Ozera's wedding on January (don't ask me why they wanted a winter wedding).
Urgh.
That sounded so weird. It feels like just yesterday we were running away from St Vladimir's, until guardians caught us again.
'How's your head?' I asked and she grimaced.
'I shouldn't have had the 4th margarita. I feel like I have dwarfs banging on my skull.'
I grinned. 'Well, at least you don't have to worry about the sun.'
Stupid vampire timetables, I added mentally. Dhampirs like me, half moroi, half human, guarded royal Moroi (vampires who survived on human blood, and had magic that could control earth, fire, water, air or spirit). Moroi hated the sun, and while it didn't burn them to death like Strigoi (Moroi who had killed during feeding or Dhampirs who had exchanged blood with a Strigoi); it still made them uncomfortable so our 'day' was human night-time.
'True.' She sighed. Only Lissa could sigh delicately.
I checked the clock, ten minutes until I need to be at the office. 'Did you need something? The kids had something you needed to tell me.'
'Umm, yeah. Alec, Nicki? Do you want to watch a movie, I'm sure mom wouldn't mind. We need to have an adult talk.' She seemed nervous. 'I just wanted to ask you, I know it was 6 years ago but,' It came out in a rush and I had a hard time understanding her. 'She's Christians aunt and his only family and I felt terrible. I was wondering if… I could invite Tasha?' she said the last sentence quickly so it took me a second to understand what she had said.
I hated Tasha and Lissa knew it. She had stolen Guardian Dimitri Belikov. My mentor, my first and only love, the unaware father of my children. She had offered him a job and a family and he had left before I told him I was pregnant. I tried to be mature about it these days though. He had chosen to leave, she didn't make him. It would have worked out well for him; he could have a job and a family. But his departure had changed me and not two months later I discovered that he had provided me with a reminder of us. Our miracle children.
Supposedly, Dhampirs couldn't procreate, something to do with our genes. After I found out I was pregnant, we theorised that when Lissa healed me accidently after the car accident that had killed her older brother and parents, she transferred some of her Moroi genes to me. This meant that I was ¾ Moroi and only ¼ human. It also meant that we'd had a mental connection that allowed me to sense her thoughts and witness events through her eyes as well as absorbing some of the darkness that plagued her mind as a side effect of spirit. After I had the kids however, the bond had faded so now she was on her own.
After realised I was expecting, Lissa and I had told the closest of our friends about the parentage. So only Eddie, Adrian, Lissa, Christian, Mia and Alberta. Their reactions were as expected concern, compassion then complete and utter anger towards Dimitri. He had told me that he loved me, and then left to guard someone else without a word about it to me. I had found out through Alberta when I asked where he was.
I think I went into shock. I could hear Lissa in the background saying how sorry she was and that it was stupid.
'Do it.' I think my voice cracked.
'What?' Lissa stopped babbling.
'Invite her. It's not up to you to protect me. I'm going to see him sooner or later. I've had six years. Besides, it's your wedding. You should invite whoever you and Sparky want.'
She managed a weak smile for the nickname I gave her fire-user fiancé. I left for work, leaving Lissa to drop off the twins at day care. I would pick them up this afternoon. It had been our arrangement ever since I had been promoted.
My combat classes ran smoothly, it was strange being here the teacher. This was the same gym that Dimitri and I had trained and fell in love in after I had returned after 2 years away from school. Now here I was teaching and he was away living the perfect life. I wondered sometimes if Tasha and he ever did have a family. The thought made me sick so I put it out of my mind.
I was sitting in my office a few hours later, eye deep in paperwork when my office phone rang.
'Lissa, if its not important-' I started.
'Rose! Shut up for a sec!' She sounded frantic.
'Are you okay? Are you in danger?' I said jumping up, ready to press the secret button that called the other guardians working in HQ into my office.
'No! I'm fine. Tasha's here. She came early to help. I swear I didn't know.'
'Oh.' My voice was small.
I hung up without saying goodbye, grabbed my coat and ran. I ran and ran and ran.
I ran to the day-care centre 2 miles away. As we walked home, the kids told me about their day. They were so innocent. They had no idea what happened in the 9 months before they were born. They didn't realise that their existence killed me every day, but I wouldn't have it any other way. They didn't know what was about to unfold in their lives.