The way that it should have been

Chapter 28

Everyone looked stunned, as if that thought hadn't even occurred to any of them yet. Well, everyone except for babushka. I don't know if it is because nothing ever shocks her, or because she already knows the answer to that question. (grandmother)

My mother turned to Zmey. "Abe, is that even a remote possibility?"

Zmey sighed sadly. "With the strigoi, anything is possible Olena. My, not so little, little girl has made a lot of enemies among the strigoi and their moroi supporters. She has killed some of the oldest and highest ranking among the strigoi and they all hate her guts for it, and they want her dead in return. They are all afraid that if she wanted to, that if she were properly motivated, if she were hurt or angry enough that she could put an end to all of them. Which she very well could, if she is pushed far enough and has the proper help, tools, and incentive. She COULD very well put an end to the strigoi. But most of the royals would rather be protected than have the best guardians go out and put an end to the strigoi menace once and for all. They don't think of anyone but themselves and what they want and need. They either don't care or don't realize, that if we had teams of the absolute best guardians in our world. And sent them out into the world to hunt down and wipeout the strigoi. That everyone would be safer and the strigoi would come to an end. And during that time the second and third and so forth best guardians could be guarding them and still keeping them safe. As for these attacks, yes, they could very well have both been done to hurt my Rose, to knock her off of her game. To distract her from a possible coming attack on her or more of the people that she loves and cares about. Or it could be for another reason entirely."

He shook his head and he sighed, "but who knows for sure?"

He was quiet for a long time before he spoke again. "Because of this damn attack in Romania, Abby's death and the new laws that have been passed in the last two years... that makes Rose... that means that my little girl... is the new Badica princess. Which also means that she is next in line for the throne, crown, and title of queen." Abe finally whispered dejectedly.

We all gasped loudly, except of course for babushka, who just nodded sadly. But I could tell that he never wanted to force his beloved daughter into such a role, into the life of a royal. A dhampir royal, which as far as I know is a first, especially of such a high ranked royal. No, what he wanted was for her to be able to live a life of her own choosing. But now... (grandmother)

"Babushka, what do you know?" I asked carefully. Actually, terrified that I didn't really want to know some of the things that she knew. (grandmother)

She didn't answer me until Abe turned to her. "Yeva, do you know something, anything, that I need to know that will help me protect my kiz bebek?" (baby girl)

She just sat there staring at him for a while before she answered. "Da." (yes)

"Will you tell me? Can you tell me?"

"Victor Dashkov blames our Roza for his plans to become king being thwarted. He thought that the laws against our having unmarried, divorced, or widowed kings would be pushed aside, forgotten, or just plain ignored just for him. He thinks that he is just that much better and more important than every other possibility. He seems to have forgotten that the Dashkov's were not even the next in line for the throne, crown, and title in the first place. That there are actually five other families ahead of the Dashkov's, the next in line actually being the Badica's as you said." She sighed deeply.

"He also blames his daughter's death, his inevitable death because of his Sandovsky's Syndrome and his current imprisonment all on our Roza. He is the one who planned not only these two attacks, but several others that are to come in the future as well as more than one that happened in the past. And he did most of them to cause our Roza just as much pain and misery as he possibly could. He thinks that if Roza, Dimka and our entire world as a whole are so distraught, grief stricken and preoccupied. Over what is happening in our world with all of these new attacks. Then when the time comes for his trial people will be too afraid of him, as well as his reach and power including his connections with the strigoi, to convict and imprison him. Or for any of the witness to even take the risk of testifying against him at all. But I can guarantee you that our Roza and Dimka as well as Princess Dragomir, her boyfriend Lord Christian Ozera and Guardian Alberta Petrova WILL testify against him. They will not be afraid of that man."

"Well, since those five are the sole eyewitnesses against him. There shouldn't be a problem in getting him convicted and sent to prison for life. The council WILL convict him, my father and Rose's aunt will make sure that he is convicted and that he gets the harshest punishment available. I have no doubts about any of that at all."

"Who is her aunt?" I found myself asking before I could slap my hand over my mouth.

Abe looked over at me and tried to smile, "Tatiana Ivashkov has been my best friend for as long as I can remember, and she and my Rose claim each other as aunt and niece. They love each other very much."

Ok, that was yet another shock. When Roza was telling us who she was I guess that I shouldn't have interrupted. If I hadn't, then we might have known all this time that Roza is really a royal. Even though she sure as ad doesn't act like the normal royals, at least not any of the royals that I have ever met before, but then neither does Abe. Of course, as I said earlier Roza is the only dhampir royal that I know of. So, I don't really know how a dhampir royal is supposed to act. (hell)

Just while she has been here, in Baia, Roza has gone from Lady Badica to Princess Badica. And apparently, she will become Queen Badica someday. Unless she and Dimka marry before she becomes queen, and if they do, then she will become Queen Rosemarie Antoinette Marisol Hathaway Mazur Belikov Badica. Just as my big brother will become King Dimitri Tristan Colton Belikov Badica.

That thought suddenly shocked me, my sestra in law, my newest sestra. Is going to become queen of the entire moroi and dhampir world someday in the future. And my brother will be her king. (sister, sister)

Abe's next words brought me back from my thoughts and to what was going on in the living room. "Are there really going to be more attacks Yeva?"

"Yes. As of this moment Victor Dashkov has put plans in place to attack your main estate in Turkey. Or at least the one that he thinks is your main residence. He is hoping that you will be in residence and that you will be killed during the attack. He also intends to launch a massive full-scale attack on St. Vladimir's Academy in Montana. And if those two attacks don't manage to kill everyone that Roza loves and cares about. Then he plans to carry out another already planned attack, only this one on the main court location in Pennsylvania, shortly after graduation. He plans to attack the academy with over a thousand strigoi and whatever is left from that he plans to use for the attack on court. And he is doing all of this in the hopes of killing everyone else that Roza is close to and cares about."

My God, this Victor Dashkov ublyudok, whoever he is, is out of his ever-loving yeblya mind!! (bastard, fucking)

My babushka stopped talking for a moment and shook her head before she continued. "If he finds out that she has been here in Baia. Then he will send his strigoi army to decimate the entire town and kill everyone here. Every man, woman and child for miles and miles around just in case she got close to anyone while she was here. When everyone that our Roza has ever loved and cared about, or who have ever loved and cared about her, is dead and she is finally alone in the world. He intends to torture and torment her a hundred if not a thousand times worse and more viciously than what he ever did to Vasilisa. Before he uses Roza to turn himself into a strigoi and takes over the entire world. He seems to think that he is worthy of worship and being the king of the entire world. He actually thinks that he is a god and should be revered and worshipped as one. He thinks that he deserves to be worshipped as a god by everyone in the entire world, not just our world." (grandmother)

"My God!!" My mother, sestry and I all exclaimed as one. (sisters)

"So former Prince Victor Dashkov is the royal that Roza was telling us about that kidnapped Lissa?" Sonja asked and my babushka and Abe just nodded. (grandmother)

"How did he even find out that I am Rose's father?"

"His brother, Robert Doru, one of his powers from spirit is the gift of sight. But thankfully he only has retro sight, not present or future sight. But even though he has retro sight, for some reason or another that I don't know or understand yet. It only shows him things that happened years into the past, not anything in the recent past. So thankfully they will not know that we know of their plans. Nor will they know of our plans to thwart them until it is far too late for them to do anything to stop it or us. And Victor will not find out about Roza having been here via a vision from Robert."

"If... if I kill Victornow, will that help anything?" He asked concern for his daughter filling his voice.