Big Mistakes, Chapter Six

"What's wrong with you lately?" Mark asks. I wish I could tell him, but of course, I wouldn't expect him to understand. He seems Lately all he wants to do is make out with me. He was not this bad a few months ago, I don't know what has gotten into him.

I look away from him as I try to get the courage to tell him how I feel. I have to break it off with him but don't know what to say. I finally just blurt it out, "I can't see you anymore," I stumble over my words as they leave my lips. He glares at me, not with shock but with anger. 

"What, are you kidding me? What! Are you interested in someone else?" he shouts. "No, it's not like that, I just don't think we are good together," I reply.

"Not good together, you wouldn't know since you won't do anything with me, your nothing but a tease," he yells at me as he balls up his fists. "Exactly, I don't want that kind of relationship, it's not something I want to do right now, and that's something I know you want. I can't give you what you want," I reply in a soft tone. He's so angry that I'm starting to get nervous. I take a few steps backward, then turn to head in the house.

I just want to get away from him, but he follows me into the house. "Why are you so stubborn? You know you, and I are destined to be together. We can rule this kingdom by joining the two most powerful family's in the realm," he huffs as he comes to stand in front of me.

I go to pull away, but he grabs my wrist really hard to stop me. I stumble forward as he grips my wrist harder. I go to pull away, only to have him grip me even harder. "You're not going anywhere. You're going to be my girlfriend in all ways," he says with darkness to his voice. My breath hitches and I think I have stopped breathing altogether. The way he stares at me makes me tremble in fear of what he's going to do next. I was all alone with Mark, Mad Mark, that's determined to make me his. Dimitri had left to do something since we were home now, and now I could really use him. 

"Mark, no. Please stop, you're hurting me," I begged. "You are mine, I will not share you with anyone else," he tells me as he gets this horrible grin on his face. 

"Please," I beg again, and that's when I hear an angry Dimitri behind me. "Get your hands off her," Dimitri growls. 

Mark lets go, then takes a step back, peering back at Dimitri. My mouth falls open as I look at how angry Dimitri looks. "Get out and never come back. If you step one foot close to her ever again, I will rip you apart with my bare hands," he tells Mark through gritted teeth.

"What are you going to do about it? Your nobody!" Mark hissed at Dimitri. 

That's when it happened, Dimitri lunged forward connecting his fist with Mark's jaw, knocking Mark off his feet. Mark fell in an awkward motion hitting the floor hard. I think at that moment I stopped breathing. Frozen where I stood, I gaped at them.  

Dimitri backed up from Mark as Mark tried to get back up. When he stood, he gave Dimitri a look of pure hatred. He looked at Dimitri, who was fuming and then to me. "You tease!" Mark yells at me, making me flinch. "GO!" Dimitri hisses. 

Mark didn't move until Dimitri jumped towards him. Mark's face goes pale as the blood drains from his face. Mark then starts to step backs toward the door. I could tell Dimitri was ready to rip him apart. "GO!" Dimitri growls at Mark once more. It took Mark only a second to run out the front door. 

I'm left standing in the main entrance, all alone. Mark left as soon as Dimitri kicked his butt, and now Dimitri has disappeared. I go from room to room, I  finally find him in the living room sitting in a chair. As I approached, he looked like he was still mad. As I slowly approach him, I can only hope he's not mad at me. 

I stop when I get a few feet from him. I figured he would look up, but he doesn't. He's staring straight ahead. "Please don't be mad at me," I beg softly, keeping my voice low.

"I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at myself. I wanted to tear him apart when I saw him hurting you. I almost lost control," he says as he stares ahead.

All of a sudden, he stands up, taking me into his arms. I gasp as he takes me by surprise. I start to lose my balance when he grabs me by my waist and pulls me to him. I can't tell what his eyes are telling me, hurt, pain, frustration. It's all too much. 

Dimitri's face softens but still has a sad look. "I'm really sorry if I scared you, he had no right to put his hands on you or to talk to you that way. I wish I could have been there sooner. He won't get ten feet from you from now on. I'll make sure to that," he tells me softly. My heart is constricting, I think I have completely stopped breathing. I'm frozen in his arms, I can't even focus on anything he's saying. I'm just lost in his eyes. 

He pulls away from me, then walks back over to the chair he was setting in before. He sits and stares ahead, leaving me confused. I wish I could understand his feelings, but he's so hard to read. I have never felt this way around anyone, and it unnerves me. 

Then my mother comes busting through the living room, startling Dimitri, and me. He jumps up to meet my mother as I stand there, still not moving. "Oh there you are, I got a call from Marks parents. They say you hit Mark. What did he do?" she asks. "Sorry, I lost it. The boy was rough with Emily and disrespectful. I punched him," Dimitri replies. "Well, good for you, I knew we made a good decision on hiring you. Thank you once again," she tells Dimitri. "I'll tell them," she grumbles to herself as she's leaving. 

Taking Risks - Chapter Five

I drop over the hill to see Dimitri skipping rocks across the water. I keep my distance so I can watch him a little longer. I rarely get to see him so relaxed, carefree, being himself. He always seemed to have his guard up around me and the others. I figured it had a lot to do with his job and to reduce distractions. 

I start walking down the hill, as I got closer, Dimitri stopped throwing rocks, he must have heard me approaching. When he turned in my direction, I knew he spotted me by the angry face he gave me.

"Emily! What are you doing here, where is Chris?" he demanded with panic in his voice. 

"I got bored, so I decided to take a walk. I knew you were here, so I didn't think you would mind if I joined you," I said. "No, this is not alright, we are here to protect you. How many times have I told you that it's dangerous to be out after dark? It's almost dark, and here you are all by yourself because you were bored. What if something happened to you, just think how crushed your parents and Chris and...…. I would be. You have to promise me that you will never do this again. Never leave without Chris or me." he yelled at me. I felt crushed, I didn't realize what I had done. "I promise," I replied in a whisper.

I walk back with Dimitri towards the house, with neither of us saying a word. I followed him into the house. When we got to the living room, he walked over to the fireplace, lighting the fire. "Stay here, I'm going to let Chris know where you are, I'm sure he's worried about you," he said before he left me standing alone. I felt like Dimitri was mad at me, the last thing I wanted to happen. He was probably yelling at Chris for not keeping a close eye on me.

When he returned, he took a seat on the floor in front of the fireplace. "Sit," he said as he motioned for me to sit down beside him. I couldn't look at him directly, I wasn't sure if he was still upset with me or not.

I kept my eyes on the fire, after a few moments of silence he spoke, "Emily," he whispers. Him just saying my name sounded like velvet to my ears, like a warm summer day. 

I looked over at him, I was instantly relieved that he looked actually calm as he leaned back with his arm resting on his knee. The fire reflected in his gorgeous brown eyes that made me look at his eyes. Oh man, why does he have to be so darn cute, and why am I so drawn to him? I ask myself over and over. 

I pulled my eyes away and focused on the fire again. "You don't realize how important you are, you have to be careful with what you do. If something happened to you,"...……….he trails off, pausing for a moment. "Just be careful," he added. 

"How bad did you yell at Chris?" I ask. "I didn't, I just let him know that you were back," he said as he smiled at me. "What do you mean by that?" I ask, trying to keep my mouth off the floor. "He called me before you got out of the house. He followed you till you came over the hill," he said as he began to giggle. "That is not funny, I should have known," I protested, shoving him hard. 

"You take your job so seriously, I mean not serious exactly, but your so dedicated. Why would you give up your life, and you want to guard someone like me? That just seems like a sacrifice that wouldn't be worth it," I asked. 

"It's something I had always wanted to do when I was a child," he replied. "So, your family, don't they miss you something terrible?" I asked. "Yes, they do, but I'm an adult now, and this was my destiny," he replied and said nothing else about his family.

Full Of Secrets - Chapter Four

My parents were in meetings, while my sister was busy with her boyfriend. Dimitri and Chris were off doing something, but close enough to keep a watchful eye on me. I had nothing better to do, so I sat down at the piano. I remember back when I was a kid taking all those piano lessons. I hated it, I just wanted to be like the other kids playing outside. As I grew older, I found playing the piano enjoyable. I let my fingers glide across the keys as the melody takes me on a wonderful journey.

I was almost through the song when I heard something, well someone behind me. I stopped playing with a grin, somehow I knew who was there. 

I turned around to see Dimitri standing there watching me. "Don't stop playing, it's beautiful," he tells me. He motions for me to continue as he smiles at me. I felt my breath catch in my throat. He never smiled at me like that before. I turn around, taking a deep breath, I place my hands on the keys. I cleared my mind, then steadied my hands. I started from the beginning of the song and played it flawlessly till the end. 

"I never knew you could play the piano that good, it's mesmerizing," he says. "I've been playing since I was a small child, I just never play around others. I guess that's why you never heard me play before," I say. I looked up at him, and we locked eyes. I stopped breathing as he held my gaze. I quickly looked away, I couldn't let him see what was in my heart. The feelings that I was trying to hide that was growing for him each time we were together. "Let's go outside for a bit," he says as he reaches down, grabbing my hand into his, leading me outside. 

He leads me into the back yard near the pool. He motions towards the picnic table. As he takes a seat, I sit down beside him. It was just Dimitri and me all alone without anyone else around. This would give me the perfect opportunity to learn a little more about what made Dimitri so special. "Ok, I get that you can wield magic and do spells and such, but out of all the time I have known you, I realized that I don't know that much about you," I told him, hoping that he would give me some answers, and to explain what I had witnessed the other night when he was sparing outside with Chris.

"There's nothing to tell, I'm just one of the top royal guardians that your father picked to protect you," he says. I could hear it in his voice that he was holding something back. I was becoming very frustrated, I wanted to know more about him. "Dimitri! Why hide things from me? You know everything about me, but I don't know that much about you. You have dedicated your life to be by my side for as long as I live or if something happens to you," I yell, not realizing it.

He stood up and looked over at me. I had gone too far, he was mad, and now I was in big trouble. "Ok, you want to know more about me, then follow me," he says in a stern voice.

I follow him, not saying a word, as he leads me into one of the libraries in the house. It was one of our small library's that no one hardly visited. Just when I thought he was going to pull a book off the shelf to teach me some history lesson, the whole bookshelf moved to the side, revealing a doorway.

 My mouth was on the floor with shock, I had lived here my whole entire life and never knew about this secret room.

I followed Dimitri through the doorway into a room that had concrete walls, with shelves of books that lined its walls. There were tables with books that were opened, along with stuff I had no clue what they were. Dimitri turns to me, "this is where I keep my family's history, along with important things," he says.  

"I didn't know this existed," I gaped. "It was built when you were a young child in preparation for Chris and me when we would join the guards. It had been requested by my father that this room be built to hide our family's secrets. Everyone in the royal family knows we have magic that makes us different from the other guards, that is what makes us different from all the other guards. There are a few of us that exist," he says. "So that explains the other night," I say out loud, not realizing it. "What do you mean by last night?" Dimitri asks. "I saw you and Chris sparing outside one night. It looked like any other time you guys fight, but then you both moved so fast that it looked so unnatural," I say. "I see, Chris and I are unique from all the rest. How do I put this, we are the same as you but...…..we don't have the light. Only my family are hybrids that have special abilities," he says. "What about Chris?" I ask. He is a distant relative of mine, cousins to be exact, he tells me, leaving me stunned as speechless. 

He grabs my arm, pulling me over to a table that had a large, antique-looking book that was propped up on a stand. He opened it and began to flip through the pages. 

"Ok, here it is, I belong to a special group of wizards, guardians or sorcerers, as you would call them, have always been the royal guards to the king and queen that serve the throne. My grandfather and his before him, have taught us special fighting skills, spells, and potions to aid the king and queen. Your father handpicked Chris and me when we were children. I was chosen to protect you, the future queen. Chris and I were trained specifically for when you became of age. He has known our secret, and has kept this a secret like all the other kings before him," he says as he flips through the pages. I'm speechless and have not said a word as he tells me the history of his kind. I had known they were different, but I had no clue how special Chris and Dimitri were. "I am a direct descendant of the royal wizards that have protected the kingdom, my fate was already decided before I was even born," he says. "That doesn't seem very fair," I say. "It's the same fate you were given before you were born," he adds. I couldn't disagree with that. We were so much alike, and I didn't even realize it. "These books are all the techniques, spells, and potions that have been passed down through the generations of guardians in my family. 

As he shut the book, I had to break the silence that was hanging between us. I elbowed him in the ribs, "now how hard was that," I tell him as he rubs his side. "I was not supposed to tell you my secret," he says. 

Before I can even say anything, he pulls me into his arms, then kisses me on the forehead. He had his arms around me, and his lips were pressed on my forehead. My heart was beating so fast, and I couldn't breathe as he held me against him. His body was warm, and his lips were soft and gentle. I wished they were on my lips, but I knew that would never happen no matter how much I wanted him to kiss me. I finally relaxed and wrapped my arms around him. He only held me a brief moment. "I will always protect you," he told me, then he released me. 

He stepped back, and I was already missing his touch. He looked at me, locking his eyes on me as I tried to hide how much he had affected me. I wanted him to kiss me and hold me in his arms again, I was lost without his touch. He looked away, "we must be going before we are missed," he says, then leads me out of the hidden door in the library. 

Dimitri told Chris and me that he had some errands to run and that I was to stay close to Chris for the rest of the evening. It was a hot day, so Chris and I headed toward the pool, except I couldn't get him to join me. "Come on, it's nice," I said as I looked over at him, setting in one of the chairs by the pool. "I'm fine, I'm perfectly content sitting here," he says as he shifts in his seat. "Is it because of your on duty?" I ask. "It's not, we are always considered to be on duty. I just don't feel like getting wet right now. Enjoy yourself, if I change my mind, I will join you," he says. 

I did a few laps, then decided I was going to join Chris by the pool. 

The sun was warm and welcoming as I sit back in my chair. 

I sent Chris into the house to keep him close by, while I got showered and changed. I headed down to the kitchen to get a snack. My sister was in the kitchen roaming through the cabinets when she turned to face me, "how are you?" she asks. "I'm good, it's been a really boring day with Mark out of town, and mom and dad away," I reply. "Can I talk to you about something without you getting mad at me?" she asks. "You can always talk to me, what's on your mind?" I ask. "I know a secret, and you're not going to like it. Mark, well, he's only going out with you because you're the king's daughter. He wants to make himself more popular until he becomes king one day. He was even talking about trying to score with you to some of the guys as school," she tells me.  

I can feel the tears fill my eyes, flowing down my cheeks. I'm 

shocked and hurt all at the same time. I don't even know what to say. "How did you find out?" I ask. "I overheard some of the boys talking about it at school, and it makes me angry that he would do that to you. I know you don't like him that way, so I don't want you to waste another second on him, he doesn't deserve you. Just be careful around him," she says.

"You don't have anything to worry about sis, I can take care of myself," I told her. She gives me a funny look. "Yeah, like how your crushing on Dimitri," she says. "I'm not crushing on Dimitri, he's my guardian," I say. "You're going to have to be more convincing than that, I see how you look at him. I'm not sure how he feels about you, but you know you can't be with him like that, it's forbidden. If you have to get it out of your system, you can fool around with him, as long as you don't get caught. 

 Your secret is safe with me," she added with a smile before she walks out of the kitchen. She knows my secret, what am I going to do now?