#karolina belikova

[howdybesties]

Green Green Dress

Part of my coffee shop AU check it out #howdys coffeeshop or #dianawrites - wanted to get something done before the new year and what a coincidence! this is set at a New Year’s party! songfic to green green dress from tick tick boom while I get more comfortable writing longer pieces. I reserve the right to retcon this as I finish the AU but Happy New Year besties!

Last time on Cool Beans: Rose has been working at the cafe since the summer. Rose and Dimitri have been secretly dating since Thanksgiving. This is them at the Belikova's New Year’s party.

Dimitri should not have been nervous. They’ve managed to keep it to themselves for weeks, enjoying the new relationship in private.

What he wasn’t prepared for was that dress. That green, green dress. It was kryptonite.

Rose had just entered the Belikova home for their annual New Year’s party. The living room was filled with families from the neighborhood, all wanting to celebrate the past year. Dimitri was making his way through the crowd but Viktoria beat him to the door.

“Rose! You made it!” Viktoria squealed as she hugged her.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Rose replied, hugging Viktoria back in return. Rose only met the youngest Belikova when she returned home for the holidays but they were becoming fast friends.

Dimitri finally made it to the entryway when he overheard his sister.

“You look gorgeous! You must tell me where you got that dress?”

Rose turned around almost sheepishly from hanging her coat on the rack.

“It’s not too much, is it? There weren’t many options at the thrift store,” Rose glanced towards to crowd inside, sighing in relief when she noticed she wasn’t the only one dressed to the nines.

“It’s thrifted? It looks like it was made for you," Viktoria continued with her compliments.

Hearing the pause, Dimitri took the chance to enter the conversation.

“I have to agree with that sentiment. You look beautiful, Roza.”

Deep, dark velvet hugs your silhouette Black silk stockings, you're my Juliet

The dress was emerald green velvet. A halter neck with twenty buttons down the back. Rose wore it with black silk stockings and a pair of low black slingback heels.

Rose shot Dimitri a devilish grin. “You don’t look too bad yourself, Comrade.”

This was as dressed up as Dimitri would get in his family’s home. A navy turtleneck paired with crisp black slacks. He ran his hand through his hair at the comment. The movement drew attention to a new accessory, a silver chain with a cross. A Christmas present from Rose.

Sensing the shift in tone and the longing looks the pair were giving each other, Viktoria mumbled an excuse about finding her baby niece and excused herself.

Dimitri guided her through the living room to the kitchen where his mother was stationed at the island. “Rose! So glad you could make it! Please help yourself to anything you like,” said Olena.

They left the kitchen with heaping servings of Olivier salad and sparkling wine.

They mingled and danced for hours. Fireworks were set off in the backyard. Many shots were drunk. They wanted to be subtle but the dress proved to be too much. Dimitri could not keep his hands off her and Rose relished in the feeling.

Unlike the New Year’s parties of her past, most of which she was just accompanying Lissa, Rose did not feel alone in the crowd. She didn’t feel like an outsider intruding. The Belikova’s had insisted she be a part of the family photo. With her arms around Karolina and Dimitri, she couldn’t help but feel like she was home somehow.

It felt like not long after the party had started, it had quieted down. Midnight had come and gone and it was a brand new year.

Let's find a chair where we can sit and talk Or get some fresh air, maybe we could take a walk Tell me what you're thinkin', talk about your day Tell me what to do, I'll do anything you say

Most of the guests had returned home and the younger children were put to bed. Rose and Dimitri had finished cleaning up a while ago but they were hesitant to leave immediately after.

They went out to the patio for some fresh air, hoping to cool off from the alcohol. Dimitri held Rose close as they swayed to a soft 80’s pop ballad he had saved on his phone, listening through a pair of wired earbuds.

Dimitri stopped suddenly when he noticed something on the ceiling.

“I thought Adrian had taken down all the Christmas decorations.”

Rose looked to where Dimitri was and spotted the mistletoe decorated with red and gold ribbon.

“Just kiss me, Comrade. I’ve been waiting all night."

With a request like that, Dimitri had to oblige. They met in the middle for a soft kiss.

“Maybe, we could do a little more than just kissing,” he whispered as he leaned down to kiss her neck.

Rose’s eyes widened as she remembered where they were. On the patio of his family home and his family still inside.

“Who are you and what have you done with Dimitri?”

“You asked me what my resolution is. I want to open up more. I don’t want to hide what we have.”

Rose was taken aback by this declaration, albeit a slightly drunken one, but a declaration nonetheless.

“I need to know what Vika snuck into the wine to get you this affectionate.”

“Nothing at all. It’s you, Roza. It’s always just you. You don’t know what you do to me sometimes.”

Rose wasn’t blind, she could see the look in his eyes whenever she teased him. She knows the effect she has on him. However, it was nothing compared to the desire that grew in her that only his words of adoration could bring out. He wants her but he also wants all of her. Not just her body but her soul as well. That’s why she loves him.

“I believe you have another present to unwrap.”

They managed to make it to his car before the buttons were completely undone.

The green, green dress What a pleasure to unwrap Green dress, oh, what it can do What the green, green dress does to me on you Me on you

[gins-potter]

🖊 Romitri, bakery

This ended up double the length it was supposed to be because i couldn't stop writing... whoops? Enjoy x

The moan Rose lets out as she steps into the bakery and inhales the aroma of delicious scents is practically indecent if the judgemental looks from the people waiting in line are any indication.  But she ignores them, along with their grumbling, as she skips past on her way to the counter where she boosts herself right up onto it.

“Olena,” she sings, receiving an indulgent smile in return as she leans in to press a kiss to her cheek.

“Hello, Roza.”  Olena peers past her.  “No Lissa today?”

“Nah, she had an early class.”

Rose waits, somewhat impatiently, as Olena takes an order, ringing it through the register and accepting the customer’s money, before throwing her a pleading look, the silent question accentuated by a loud growl from her stomach.

It makes Olena laugh as she gestures behind her.  “Go, your breakfast is waiting.”

“I love you,” Rose declares, sliding off the counter and leaving her to her next impatient customer.  

She squeezes past Sonya behind the coffee machine, calling a hello as she does, and receives something mumbled in return, a response that’s practically friendly coming from her so early in the morning.  She’s forced to dodge Yeva, who’s coming the opposite way with a tray of hot blini and who snaps something distinctly less friendly in Russian, before she can finally throw herself at the waiting plate of bread with another borderline lewd moan.  To watch Rose take her first bite of the black bread, that’s so fresh it's still steaming, one might think it’s a heavenly experience, what with the way she closes her eyes and tilts her head back.

“Roza!” Viktoria calls, coming out from the kitchen.  “I thought I heard you.”

Rose waves at her friend, savouring the mouthful of bread, but her chewing slows and her nose crinkles as she notices something.

“It’s different,” she says without swallowing, and it all comes out a little garbled.  “The bread tastes different.”

Olena hands the last customer their order in a brown paper bag and bids them a good day before turning to Rose with a raised eyebrow.  Rose is half expecting her to chastise her for talking with her mouth full - something so motherly that Rose still isn’t quite used to it - but instead Olena just asks curiously, “Bad?”

Rose shoots her an indignant look in return and swallows.  “Of course not bad, it could never be bad, just different.  Did you change the recipe or something?” she asks, knowing full well Olena doesn’t follow recipes.

“No.  My son baked the bread this morning.”

Rose, in the process of taking another bite, pauses, and feels her eyebrows rise.  She knows of the Belikov’s only son of course, but in the year she’s become a permanent fixture in their bakery, she’s never laid eyes on him.  She thinks she remembers hearing once that he’s away at school in New York.

Rose’s thoughtful hum turns delighted as she bites into the bread again; she would never admit it to Olena but she thinks she might almost enjoy the tangier flavour of today’s bread more than she usually does.

She hears the door to the kitchen swing open again and Viktoria lets out a crow of laughter.  “Hey Dimka, apparently your bread tastes weird.”

Rose swallows roughly and gestures in surrender so emphatically that she almost loses the rest of her breakfast.  “Woah, hey, I did not say it was weird, I said it was diff-”  Her words die in her throat as she turns to the newcomer and catches sight of quite possibly the hottest guy she’s ever laid eyes on.

Olena’s son has to have nearly a foot of height on Rose, his arms, exposed by his rolled up sleeves, are corded with muscle, and his shoulder-length hair is tied back in a ponytail that Rose has a wild urge to free from its band and runs her fingers through.

“I’ve never had anyone describe my bread as weird before,” he says, cocking his head with a slight smirk.

Rose ignores the cute dimple that’s appeared in his cheek and levels him with a pointed finger, followed by a glare at Viktoria.  “Different, not weird,” she reiterates.

“Different good?”  He folds his arm across his chest and Rose forcibly drags her eyes away from them.

“That’s yet to be determined,” she shoots back coyly.

“You must be the infamous Roza.”  He offers her a hand to shake.  “Dimitri.”

Rose isn’t too sure about the use of the word ‘infamous’ but accepts the proffered hand regardless; it’s big, and callused, and warm, and she doesn’t want to let go.

“It’s nice to meet you, Dimitri.  And I guess I’ll just have to try your bread again tomorrow to decide.”

“Yes,” Dimitri says, with a slight chuckle, finally, regrettably, releasing her hand.  “I’ve already been told to expect you most mornings.”

Rose levels a glare around at the Belikova women who are watching their exchange with thinly veiled amusement; even Karolina has appeared in the kitchen doorway to observe.  Dimitri moves to his mother’s side and ducks to press a kiss to her cheek.

“I’m going to meet Ivan for a couple hours, Mama, but I’ll be back for the lunch rush.”

Olena reaches up and pats his cheek, smoothing away a stray streak of flour that’s found its way there.

“It was nice to meet you, Roza,” Dimitri says, before lifting his hand in farewell to his family as he heads for the door.

“He called me Roza,” Rose says faintly, once he’s out of earshot.

Viktoria shoots her a bemused look.  “We all call you Roza.”

“Yeah, but not like that.”  Rose snatches up her breakfast and hurries after him, ignoring Yeva’s bark of Russian that follows her, no doubt a warning of the perils she’ll face if she doesn’t return her plate.  “Hey,” she says, catching up with Dimitri at the door.

Dimitri looks amused to see her, but holds the door open for her to step through.

“So, when are you heading back to New York?”

“I’m not.  I finished my degree last semester, I’d moved back home to help out for a few months before I worked out my next move, but…”

“But…” Rose prods.

Dimitri’s eyes trace over her face.  “But maybe there’s more here for me than I thought.  I’ll see you around, Roza.”

Rose grins, “See ya, comrade.”

[belikov-barnes]

Headcanon that Zoya Belikova forms a special bond with her Auntie Roza. She wants to learn all about Auntie Roza’s pranks, rebellious ways, and hopes to grow up to become a guardian just like her. The Belikova women notice how uncomfortable Rose is with children, so they always encourage her to get to know them and bond. Karolina soon regrets it, as Zoya starts recreating some of Auntie Roza’s Best Moments™. But nobody regrets this more than Dimitri himself, who one day is greeted by his little niece with a “privet comrade”. Rose finds it absolutely hilarious, and Yeva can’t help but chuckle at the defeated look on Dimitri’s face. 

[sydneysageivashkov]

Karolina Belikova, a hero: I will keep the memory of my little brother alive by making fun of him mercilessly

Karolina, a true sister: everyone else wants to remember him as a badass guardian. I must protect his memory and tell people of his true himbo nature.

[kate-read-that]

Shoutout to the Belikova girls for accepting a stranger damphir they didn't know for shit just because an alchemist said that stranger had muttered their name.

Shoutout for them deciding to love and protect that girl because she had met and loved their brother, believing only her word for it, and treating her like a sister from then on.

Belikova girls man.

[ciceroisthefamilycat]

I’m enamored with my own fancast for VA... like I will probably be actively disappointed if I don’t get my way...

Gizem Emre as Rose

Sarah Grey as Lissa (with Johnny Sequoyah as Jill, and Cameron Cuffe as Andre)

Staz Nair as Dimitri

Blake Michael as Christian

Lana Condor as Mia

Jake Austin Walker as Mason

Niko Guardado as Eddie

Aurora Perrineau as Adrian

Giorgia Whigham as Sydney

Charlie Rowe as Jesse

now adding:

Isabelle Fuhrman as Natalie Dashkov

Peter Outerbridge as Viktor Dashkov

Michelle Trachtenberg as Tasha Ozera (if they can find an actress who actually has scars on her face, I will support the heck out of that- just find another role for Michelle)

Kelly Macdonald as Jeanine Hathaway

Hal Özşan as Abe Mazur

Barbara Hershey as Queen Tatiana (Cora from OUAT was kind of the perfect practice for it)

Tatyana Mukha as Headmistress Kirova

Annet Mahendru as Karolina Belikova, or Sonja (fulfilling my desire for her and Staz to play siblings)

Olga Fonda as Sonya Karp (especially after her time as Nadia Petrova on TVD)

Juliana Harkavy as Guardian Alberta Petrov (she’s young for the role but let me have this)

Mark Ivanir as Stan Alto

Lev Gorn as Emil

Nikolai Nikolaeff as Yuri

Costa Ronin as Mikhail Tanner

Julian Kostov and Pawel Szajada could also work as Guardians (maybe Spiridon for the latter)

Margarita Levieva as Ms. Carmack

Elysia Rotaru as Deirdre (Rose and Lissa’s counselor), my gif

Olesya Rulin as Avery Lazar

Sofia Vassilieva as Abby Badica or Camille Conta

ETA, June 13:  Jesús Castro as Ambrose

ETA, July 1: Oana Pellea as Rhonda

[shadowkissed-mina]

Vampire Academy - Bloodstream Cast ( Part Four )

Joely Richardson as Queen Tatiana Ivashkov

Elyse Levesque as Sonya Karp

Helen Mirren as Yeva Belikova

Rachel Weisz as Olena Belikova

Kate Mara as Karolina Belikova

Nina Dobrev as Sonja Belikova

Adelaide Kane as Viktoria Belikova

Cameron Boyce as Paul Belikov

- part one ( x ) - part two ( x ) - part three ( x ) -

[dimitribelikov-writes-blog]

Karolina Belikova

[strazhsvobody]

My Toys My Rules || Past Drabble

Summer 1991

Karolina sat in the living room with her friends playing with her dolls when her little brother walked in. "Can I play?" he asked. "No, Dimka." Karolina replied exasperated. "Yeah," Irina chimed in, "It's for girls, not silly boys." "That's not fair!" Dimitri exclaimed, looking extremely upset, "Mama!" "What's wrong?" their mother said walking into the room, rocking Sonja. "Leena, let Dimka play with you." Olena chastised. "But, Mama!" Karolina whinged, "We're playing with dolls! Why does he even want to play!" "Karolina, enough! Either you play with your brother or not  at all." Olena said, giving the ultimatum. Olena walked out of the room, heading upstairs to put Sonja down for her nap. Karolina and her friends glared, but then Karolina smirked. "If you want to play with us you have to marry all of our dollies, Dimka. You have to make honest women out of them." she announced. Dimitri frowned, his little face constricted with concentration as he thought about what she said. "Do I have to kiss them?" he askede. "Yeah, duh. You can't get married without kissing." she replied, rolling her eyes. "Ew, that's gross!" he cried. "Then I guess you don't want to play then." She retorted. He huffed and his eyes narrowed slightly. Karolina began to smirk as she thought she had won, but a second later Dimitri nodded once. "Fine." he announced, "I'll marry your stupid dolls. And kiss them too." Karolina was a little surprised that Dimitri would actually marry her dolls just to play with them, but she was going to milk this for all it was worth. If she was going to be forced to play with her baby brother she might as well make it entertaining. And if they played this correctly her mother would have no clue what they were up to considering she always went to cook after she put Sonja down for her naps. "Come on, girls!" she called happily, quickly getting her dolls ready. Her friends followed along quickly readying the entire thing and making Dimka play the same part five times with each doll, mimicking their cousin, Mariska's wedding. Dimka had snuck into Olena's room and stolen one of his father's business suit jackets, putting it on and hurrying downstairs. "I'm ready, Leena!" he yelled happily, just excited to be allowed to join their game, "I'm ready!" "Hold on, Dimka!" she called back. Finally the girls had their dolls dressed and ready. Dimitri stood at attention, honorably dedicating himself to each of the dolls. The girls giggled amused by the young dhampir. "Kar..." Olena started, but stopped when she caught sight of the six dhampirs playing, "Dimitri Belikov, are you wearing your father's shirt?" There was fear in her words and Dimitri put his head down in shame. "Mama, don't be mad at Dimka," Karolina pleaded, "It wasn't his fault. I asked him to take that." "Karolina, you know how angry your father would be if he saw the two of you playing with his things." "But, we were having fun, Mama." Karolina whinged. Olena sighed, then smiled, "I'm glad. Now, come inside for dinner. And Dimka give me that jacket so I can wash it."

Present"We actually got him to do it a lot." Karolina said smiling fondly, "Until our father caught us. He was furious, but of course he blamed Mama and not us. We had a lot of fun. And he looked so funny kissing the dolls." She and Rose began laughing as Dimitri walked in. "What are we laughing about?" he asked, amused. "Oh nothing, just telling Rose some stories." Karolina replied, as she took another drink from her coffee.

[belikov-barnes]

Rose having a strong familial bond with Belikova women is ❤ I headcanon Viktoria went to the United States after she graduated St. Basil's. She and Rose cleared the air about Rolan and became closer than ever.

Olena loves to dote on Rose, knowing how she didn't really have that experience as a child. Karolina gets really protective, and takes on a role as a big sister. She also loves to tease Dimitri and tell Rose all of the embarrassing stories about him that she can. Sonya takes a while to open up to Rose. She's learnt to not trust people too quickly, since she's been hurt in the past. But it's this protective instinct in her that Rose can relate to, and after a few visits Sonya feels comfortable to open up and trusts Rose implicitly. She and Rose end up becoming confidants in each other, because they know they can trust the other to be straight and call each other out on their bullshit when necessary. Yeva loves pushing Rose's buttons, but she really is very fond of her. She'll just never tell her that outright! The kids love Rose. They all look up to her and admire that she's a badass guardian in charge of protecting the QUEEN! And Viktoria just sees Rose as another best friend. She immediately clicked with Rose the first time she met her in Baia, and after their reconciliation they got even closer. Plus, I always thought it would make more sense for Viktoria to come to Palm Springs with Dimitri and Sonya in The Golden Lily. She's someone that Rose and Dimitri would trust completely to help keep Jill safe and would be around the right age to be in school with her.

[gins-potter]

Febuwhump Day 2

Title: haunted by the ghost of you

Fandom/Pairing: Vampire Academy/Romitri

Prompt: “i dreamt you were alive” (alt.)

Warnings/triggers: n/a

Rose wasn’t sure exactly what had awoken her; the sun filtering through the sheer curtains was still weak, just the first strains of daylight, nice but not strong enough to have bothered her, and the house was still quiet around her.  It was early, so early that not even Olena would be awake yet.  So early that Rose definitely shouldn’t be awake.

But here she was, stretching with a sleepy smile as she reached across the other side of the bed which was disappointingly empty.  She made an incomprehensible noise of protest at that but pushed herself upright and off the bed anyway, rubbing at her eyes as she padded across the room.  She didn’t stop to pull on shoes or anything warmer than the t-shirt and shorts she’d worn to bed, because, despite the early hour, the air lacked it’s usual chill.

No one stirred as she passed the other bedrooms off the hallway, and it was so quiet that she might have been the only person in the Belikov house altogether.  But Rose had a feeling she wasn’t alone, the same feeling that drew her downstairs and led her into the living room.

Dimitri smiled and set aside the book he was reading when she entered.

“I was wondering when you’d get here.”

The phrasing of his words was strange but it was early enough and Rose was happy enough to see him that she didn’t think about it twice.  Instead she practically floated across the room towards him, slipping onto his lap as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Not all of us like to rise with the sun,” she grumbled, burying her face in the soft fabric of his shirt.

“You’re missing out,” he teased in response, sliding warm hands under the hem of her top.

She grumbled unintelligibly, making him laugh, and snuggled closer, feeling him duck his head to rest on her shoulder, entwining them impossibly closer so they might never be separated.

“I’ve missed this,” he murmured so quietly that she almost missed it.  The warmth of his breath hit her throat and she shivered, thinking over his words.

“Missed this?” she repeated with a snort.  “I seem to remember us being in a position not too different just last night.”

Dimitri didn’t answer and for the first time since she’d awoken a sense of unease started to slither through Rose’s veins.  She shivered again, feeling cold now, and leaned back a little so she could catch a glimpse of Dimitri’s face.  But he kept his head down as if he could bear to part with her.

“Dimitri,” she said, and he finally drew back so they could see each other.

His expression was sympathetic, even a little sad, and the discomfort in Rose grew.

“What?” she said, the question coming out sharper than she’d intended.  “Why are you looking at me like that?”  She’d always hated feeling like she hadn’t been let in on something, almost as much as she hated seeing pity in people’s eyes when they looked at her.

Like the way Dimitri was looking at her right now.

“You have to wake up, Roza,” he said gently, before she could ask again.

Rose laughed, the sound false to both their ears.  “What do you-”

“You need to wake up now,” he said again and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead.

A kiss Rose swore she could still feel as she woke, panting and bolting upright, in the dark room of the Belikov house.  She looked around, chest rising and falling rapidly, convinced that she would find him sleeping beside her, ready to pull her into his arms and whisper sweet comforts when she told him she’d had a strange dream.  But the bed was cold and empty and undisturbed.

Feeling sick and not wanting to believe what was slowly dawning on her as the last vestiges of sleep slipped away, Rose flew from the bed, racing out of the room and down the hall, making more noise than was probably considerate to the other sleeping occupants of the house.  But she didn’t care as she took the stairs two at a time, not when she had to see.

She skidded into the dark living room and her eyes fell on the armchair where she was sure Dimitri had just sat.  The empty armchair.  The mundane armchair that she’d walked past countless times since she’d come to stay at the Belikov house.  The armchair that now felt as painful to look at as the mouth of that cave where she’d seen Dimitri falter.

The small seed of hope that Rose hadn’t even realised was preparing to bloom in her chest withered and it felt like Rose was dying right along with it.

She clamped her hand over her mouth and the sound that was threatening to emerge from her, something wounded and loud that would surely wake the others.  Rose didn’t want them to see her like this and she didn’t want to explain how easily she’d been duped into believing, if only for a heartbeat, that she might have Dimitri back.

She stumbled blindly out of the room and found the back door, finding the handle through the haze of unshed tears and stepping out onto the back porch.  She tripped down the stairs and sank onto the grass, wrapping her arms around herself and rocking back and forth a little to try and keep the sobs at bay.

It was painfully difficult and she felt as though the hole that had been in her chest since losing Dimitri was splintering and widening with every passing minute but eventually her silent tears eased and the sobs wracking her body passed.  In their place a desolate sort of emptiness settled over her.

Without Dimitri or Lissa she was lonely, desperately so, she realised.  She already loved the Belikov’s like a family, but they had their own pain, their own grief, and she loathed to burden them with hers as well.  She wanted to talk to Lissa.  She wanted to talk to anyone.  She wanted to talk to Dimitri.

The thought nearly brought her back to tears.

In the movies they always went to their loved one’s grave to do this, but there had been no body for the Belikov’s to bury of course, and no headstone bearing Dimitri’s name in the little cemetery attached to the town’s church.  So Rose just tilted back her head and spoke to the stars, hoping that Dimitri’s soul, wherever it was now, could hear her.

“I dreamt you were alive,” she whispered, fresh tears sliding down her face.  

The confession sounded pathetic to her own ears; the desperate dream of a desperate girl.  But Dimitri wouldn’t have thought her as desperate or pathetic, she could imagine him tenderly tucking a lock of hair behind her ear and asking her to tell him about it.  That was the image of him that she held in her mind as she continued.

“I dreamt you were alive,” she repeated.  “And even though when I woke up I knew it wasn’t real, I wanted so desperately to believe that it could be.”

There was a soft noise behind her, an exhale and murmur of Russian, and Rose twisted, heart pounding, to see Karolina standing on the porch.

“Karo,” Rose muttered, turning back around and hurriedly wiping at her face.  “Sorry… I couldn’t sleep… I didn’t mean to wake you…”

Karolina didn’t answer, didn’t acknowledge her babbling words, and there was only the quiet crunch as she crossed the grass to sit beside Rose.  She didn’t look at Rose, for which the other girl was grateful, but looked up at the stars as well.

“I dream about him too.”

Rose glanced at her, but Karolina didn’t look away from the sky.  Her expression was blank, a fair replica of her brother’s guardian mask, but even she couldn’t keep the sorrow from her eyes.

“Mostly memories from when we were children, how I remember him.  But sometimes I have nightmares too, about how he is now.”

Rose wanted to take her hand, made an aborted movement almost like she was going to, but held herself back, unsure that the touch would be appreciated.  Karolina didn’t say anything further, didn’t elaborate on her dreams, for which Rose was grateful, her own imagination about what Dimitri was now was bad enough.  Karolina simply looked at Rose, and she recognised the look for what it was: an offer to unburden herself, if that was what she needed.

“It was stupid,” she said, even as her lips trembled and she had to press them together for a moment.  “It was just a moment, a single moment, of what we could have been if he was still… it felt so real.”

Karolina nodded.  “I think that’s when I miss him the most.  The tiny moments, seeing a book I think he’d like, sitting around the dinner table and feeling like someone is missing, Paul doing something funny and knowing I’ll never get to tell him about it, that’s when I feel his absence the most.”

Rose found herself nodding.  It was things like the smell of his soap that she missed, the slight smile that would cross her face when she said something that amused him, the warmth of his touch.  The tiny moments that should have made up their life together.

“I don’t know how to survive those moments,” she whispered, feeling herself fracture further with the admission.

There was no hesitation in Karolina’s movements as she reached for Rose, sliding an arm around her and pulling her close to her.  It was the touch of a sister, and she wondered when Karolina had started to feel like that to her, even as her sobs started up fresh.

“I don’t know either,” Karolina admitted, stroking Rose’s hair as she held her.  There was comfort in Karolina saying she was as lost in her grief as Rose was.  “I can only hope that with time they might start to hurt a little less.”

Rose wasn’t sure how long they sat like that, with Karolina holding her so tight that she could feel when the other woman’s tears start to fall alongside her own, but it was long enough that the sun had just started to scrape the horizon and they could hear Olena bustling around the kitchen by the time they stirred themselves.  Rose didn’t know how to thank Karolina for the comfort the woman had offered in that dark moment of night, she supposed that besides Lissa, and her mother only occasionally, she’d never had another woman care for her like that.  But when they stood and faced each other, no adequate words coming to mind, she saw the solace in the other woman’s expression  and found herself wondering if Karolina had needed those hours and their conversation as much as she had.

Before she could force herself to find words, Karolina touched her cheek briefly and said, “He will always be with us, but it will get better, one day.”  And Rose knew that nothing else needed to be said as they turned and made their way back into the house.

[belikov-barnes]

Official Vampire Academy short stories & bonus material

Sunshine - Occuring ~20 years before the events of Vampire Academy, Sunshine is a short story about Eric and Rhea Dragomir meeting for the first time. This is a multi-chapter story from the Kisses From Hell novella. You can read Sunshine here, and purchase Kisses From Hell here.

The Turn and The Flame - Set 8 or 9 years before Vampire Academy, The Turn and The Flame follows Tasha's experiences on the day Christian's parents turned Strigoi. It gives some important context regarding Tasha's place in royal Moroi society, explains why Tasha is so passionate about Moroi learning to defend themselves, delves into Tasha's first love, and shows Dimitri and Tasha's first meeting. There are cameos from Tatiana Ivashkov, Nathan Ivashkov, Janine Hathaway, Eric Dragomir. It was published as part of the Vampire Academy 10th Anniversary edition. You can read The Turn and The Flame here, and purchase the Vampire Academy 10th Anniversary edition here.

From The Journal of Vasilisa Dragomir - Set over several months, this story covers Lissa's experiences with spirit and darkness following the death of her family, and the experiences of Lissa and Rose while on the run. Published in the Vampire Academy 10th Anniversary edition. You can read From The Journal of Vasilisa Dragomir here, and purchase the Vampire Academy 10th Anniversary edition here.

Adrian's Diary #1 - Taking place during spring, the same year as Vampire Academy, this short excerpt from Adrian's diary gives insight into his experiences at college. Originally posted on Richelle Mead's blog. You can read Adrian's Diary #1 here.

The Meeting - Dimitri's POV of meeting Rose for the first time set during Vampire Academy. This was originally posted on Richelle Mead's blog, included in the Vampire Academy 10th Anniversary novel. You can read The Meeting here, and purchase Vampire Academy 10th Anniversary edition here.

Adrian's Diary #2 - Taking place in November, just before the events of Frostbite. This short diary entry hints at Adrian's experiences with spirit, and gives some background context to various relationships in his life. You can read Adrian's Diary #2 here.

Hello, My Name Is Rose Hathaway - Set at St Vladimir's in late November, between the events of Vampire Academy and Frostbite. included in the Vampire Academy 10th Anniversary novel. You can read Hello, My Name is Rose Hathaway here, and purchase the Vampire Academy 10th Anniversary edition here.

Homecoming - Set only about a month of so after the end of Last Sacrifice, Rose and Dimitri return to Baia after his restoration, reunite with the Belikova women, and end up being sent on a mission to protect the local community. Originally from the novella Foretold: 14 Tales of Prophecy and Prediction. This is a short, multi-chapter story. You can read Homecoming here, and purchase Foretold here.

Bloodlines: Adrian's Lost Chapter - The original first chapter of Bloodlines, this short story covers Adrian's feelings after the events of Last Sacrifice. It was originally posted on Richelle Mead's blog via Scribd. You can read Adrian's Lost Chapter here.

Happy Mother's Day from the Hathaway's - A short email correspondence between Rose and Janine on Mother's Day. It's not confirmed when this is set, but I deduce that it was after Rose has graduated. This is because her email address refers to her as "Roza". You can read Happy Mother's Day from the Hathaway's here.

[belikov-barnes]

I want to write a fic about Dimitri’s family introducing Rose to eurovision one time when they visit Baia, and Rose is just sitting there watching Germany’s performance in absolute disbelief, while an amused Dimitri is enjoying her utter confusion. His sisters are fully vibing to Russian Woman. Paul’s trying to finger dance along to Lithuania’s Discoteque. Olena is truly rooting for Malta to win with the girl power anthem. Yeva is in her rocking chair in the corner, ignoring the tv and knitting, but when nobody’s watching she is bobbing her head along to Måneskin

[gins-potter]

The Belikova sisters and how much they accept Rose has always been one of my favorite parts of the VA books. Dhampir women loving and supporting each other through grief

Oh my god, yesssssss. My only wish is that we'd seen Rose interact with more Dhampir women across the series, as a group they felt a little underrepresented which is such a shame.