There had been a group of very polite and well-meaning individuals when she’d first arrived that had tried to explain to Viktoria what had happened and why she was here. Only none of it made any sense. She’d stepped outside long enough to catch her breath and was certain that she saw flying horses overhead. That was enough to cause her to slip back inside and ask more questions. She had so many questions.
Dimka and Rose showed up to take her back to their apartment. After a happy reunion and lots of hugs, she started asking those questions one after another. Most of them involved the hows and whats of Atlantis. She hadn’t quite gotten to the big questions of how in the hell they had an adult daughter, adopted or not. She wanted to know so many things about what was happening, and she could only get out one question at a time.
When they had gotten settled back at the apartment, Vik sipped on her water and looked at her brother, studying him. He seemed so pleased to see her, and she was happy to see him too. Even though they’d seen one another since Rose’s first time in Baia, seeing him so alive still managed to surprise her in the best way possible.
“How long have you been here?” She asked him. “We were never made aware that you had left your post at Court.”
Dimitri was over the moon to see his sister again. He missed his family and having her here was a wonderful gift. “I didn’t leave my post at Court,” he said. “The thing about this place is that people can come from different times and places. I come from a time before I was turned, Rose has told me about it but I haven’t lived it yet. Rose also was in another place before she was here, a place called Breckinridge. She said that i was there more than once and from different times. The multiverse can do that so there are other versions of you out there somewhere too. When I got here a year ago, Rose was pregnant by one of me, it had happened in Breck.” he paused to take a breath. “A Strigoi can be restored if they’re stabbed with a stake charmed by Spirit by a Spirit user. Lissa saved me and then we found out that a restored Strigoi can conceive with a dhampir although since I haven’t gone through that, Roza and I can’t have another child unless we adopt another.” Or if somehow he became a Strigoi and was restored but he really didn’t want that to happen.
“We’ve been in Atlantis for over a year,” Rose cimed in, picking up the conversation as Dimitri paused. “Before that, I was in Breck for about two years or so. I was about 6 or 7 months pregnant already when I woken up here, so your brother had a bit of a surprise,” she said, laughing a little. “It’s been pretty great, despite the weirdness, though.” For Rose, there was no question that this had become home. She loved the life she and Dimitri had built here together. “Time travel is so weird, though. I think I now have memories of him proposing to me three different times.”
“You were never Strigoi?” Of course she knew how he’d been restored since she’d seen him the once before, but the information about being able to have children with other dhampirs was brand new. So was the talk about multiple versions of people and other places like this Atlantis. There was so much information coming so quickly that it was hard to make sense of any of it.
“I’m here, and I’ve accepted that I’m not dreaming, but I still am having a hard time understanding that it’s even possible,” she admitted. She wasn’t used to all of the strangeness or excitement in her life back home. Having really ever only spent time between Baia and the school, her outlook on life was a lot more limited than her brother and sister’s.
“So, where is this little version of you?”
Dimitri smiled. “I’ll go and get him.” He went into Ivan’s room where the little boy had just woken up from a nap and was very excited at the voices he could hear in the other room. “You can’t stand to not be in the middle of things, can you?” he said with a smile as he picked up his son. Ivan grinned and reached for him, saying “Daddy!” Dimitri wondered if he’d ever grow tired of looking at the child, the little miracle that he had never expected would part of his life.
When he returned to the living room, he said down next to his sister. “Ivan, this is your Aunt Viktoria. Can you say Vika?.” Smiling at his sister, he said “Would you like to hold him?”
“Of course I do!” Viktoria exclaimed and made grabby hands as soon as Dimitri walked back into the room with the little boy in his arms. Sonja and Karolina had children of their own, but he never thought he’d be able to ever hold a child of Dimka’s in her arms. “Hello, malen'kiy, it’s very good to meet you.”
Ivan looked at her and then gave her a smile. “Dika!: he said. “Well that’s pretty close,” Dimitri said. “He’s not gotten the ‘v’ sound yet.” He wasn’t normally an emotional person but seeing his sister holding Ivan caused him to swallow a big lump in this throat and he looked over at Rose who was watching him with a smile on her face. She knew how much this moment meant to him and he was glad she was here to share it.
Viktoria laughed and bounced Ivan on her knee as he babbled at her in that language that all babies somehow managed to learn at a young age. Her sisters’ children had all learned the same language, although, theirs had a slightly different accent. She spoke a few Russian words to him to tell him how big of a boy he was and how handsome. “I certainly hope he will eventually understand that,” she said half to her brother but also a little teasingly to Rose.
“He will. I talk to him in Russian a lot and I read to him in Russian too. I want him to be fluent in both languages.” His life would be different here than it would have been in their world, he wouldn’t be a guardian but Dimitri wanted to give him every opportunity. “There are a lot of different languages spoken here. I wouldn’t mind learning a couple of them myself. Like French.” he grinned at Rose, remembering a conversation they’d had about that particular language.
Rose grinned back at her husband. “Yeah, you should definitely get on that,” she suggested. It was a good idea anyway when you never knew where Atlantis might send you, but she also couldn’t help wondering if a French accent would sound as sexy as his slight Russian one.
“Good,” she said. “Because otherwise I would have to start teaching him myself.” Every rightful Belikov needed to be able to speak basic Russian even if it was to confuse the non-Belikovs in their lives.
VIKTORIA & TAISIA
I’m going under the assumption here that she’s already met with Dimitri and he explained the whole “I can have kids” thing.
Dimitri had a daughter. A son. One adopted and one by natural birth. It was so hard to imagine that it was possible. Her entire life, Viktoria was taught that dhampirs could never have children together. That they depended on the Moroi for the survival of their kind just as the Moroi depended on the dhampirs to keep them safe. Under the current system, one group took advantage of the other, but they still both depended on each other for survival.
Perhaps she shouldn’t have been too surprised. The fact that Dimka was alive at all was a miracle. He’d been awakened as Strigoi and yet had stood in front of her as dhampir. There were no red rings around his eyes, and his skin was warm. He was her brother through and through. She’d seen him the once before after he and Rose had come to their village, but that had been some time ago. Seeing him alive still felt like a miracle.
As were both of his children even if one had not been theirs from birth. Taisia. She was older than Viktoria by a couple years which also strange for her to think about, but the girl was still her niece. She’d gotten her room number from Rose after seeing her and Dimitri, and decided to drop by. Before her visit, though, she stopped by the place where she was staying and baked up a couple loaves of her Mama’s bread. She couldn’t meet her niece for the first time empty-handed, could she? Olena Belikova would never have approved.
Basket in hand, Vik stood in front of Taisia’s door and knocked lightly. It was hard to explain, but she felt nervous to meet her. Excited, yes, but still very nervous.
Man was Atlantis weird, Aunts being younger, being close in age with both her parents, a younger brother and well, life was weird.
Taisia was dancing around when she heard a knock, turning the music down she headed towards the door opening it wide, when she saw who it was her grin grew even more.
"Aunt V!" She practically squealed as she gave her Aunt a massive hug. "Did Mom and Dad tell you everything? Are you okay? It's so good to see you!" She rattled off as she pulled back from her aunt. "Do you have any idea how good it is to see you?"
A little surprised by the reaction, Viktoria just smiled and returned the hug to her niece as she ticked off a series of questions. When she let go, Vik tried to take in everything about the other girl standing there. She was beautiful.
“I think so,” she said. “I mean, they told me a lot. Some of it I’m still trying to understand.” She walked inside the apartment and looked around. It was similar to Rose and Dimitri’s but looked a little different since this one seemed set up for two individual people rather than two living together as a couple.
“I brought you something,” she said and held out the bread basket. “It should still be mostly warm.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” Taisia told her although she took the bread and headed to the kitchen. “Not that I’ll ever turn down food.”
Taisia didn’t waste any time finding a few different spreads that could go on the bread. “So, you probably have a lot of questions huh?” Taisia asked smiling.
“I wanted to,” Viktoria said with a smile. “It’s my mother’s bread, but I hope this isn’t the first time you’ve ever tried it.” She hoped that either Dimitri had baked it for her or that they’d visited their home village often enough for her to remember eating it.
“A lot of questions,” she said with a nod. “So many that it’s hard to make sense of most of them. Mostly, I’d like to know more about you though. What kind of activities do you enjoy? Do you have a favorite thing to do in Atlantis? Do you like what you do here?” She shook her head. “I told you - lots of questions.”
“Ha, no, not the first time, but it’s been a long time. I can’t cook, got that from Mom.” Taisia could do very basic things, bread wasn’t one of the things she could do.
Laughing Taisia shrugged. “Does beating the crap out of bad guys count as an activity? Okay, seriously, sports mostly, eating food, not making it, gummy worms with vodka, best thing in the world… Uh, I like my job, I run a team with two headstrong men, Peter and Clint. Peter’s hot, he also was my Prince when Atlantis turned us into fucking Disney Princesses.” Taisia cringed. “How the hell those women move around in those dresses…” She shook her head but tried to continue answering the questions. “I like to train, and eat food, and there are a lot of random things that happen, there were olympics last month, so snowboarding is awesome.” She paused. “What was the last question?”
“Oh, it definitely does,” Viktoria said with a nod. It was something she’d been wanting to do for a long time even if she probably would rarely ever use what she was learning at school out in the real world. Being a real, promised guardian like Dimitri was just wishful thinking on her part.
Shaking that off, she smiled and pinched off some of the bread. “I think you about covered them all. Gummy worms with your vodka? That sounds like something I’d want to try.” She thought for a moment. “I can’t believe you run your own team especially with the men under you. And wait… you were a Disney princess? Which one?”
“It’s amazing!” Taisia grinned, it was kind of weird that Vik didn’t know these things about her but Taisia got it, the whole coming from different times things could really just mess with a person.
“Yeah, Cinderella… One of the guys on my team, Peter was Prince Charming. Let’s just say it was kind of awkward and yeah…”
“Prince Charming!” Viktoria exclaimed with a grin. “And Cinderella. I wish I would have been around to see that.” She busied herself with eating a couple of bites of bread, but her eyes grew mischievous before asking her next question. “So,” she started. “Is it still awkward, or….?”
“I don’t know, a little? I guess? We kissed while you know, not ourselves and he’s a really good kisser but I lead his team and I don’t think I’m really his type.” Not that Taisia had any idea what his type was. “It’s just… weird.”
Viktoria was probably hoping for something a little more juicy than that, but she could understand how it would be strange especially since she was the leader of his team. She made a face at the last part though. “You should be anyone’s type,” she said without hesitation. “But it sounds like this place does that kind of thing a lot.”
Taisia shrugged, she’d rarely had any luck with boys and that didn’t seem to change no matter what universe she was in. Taisia decided not to mention it. “Weird things happen all the time here, that’s true. It’s fun though, it is.” She wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince Vik or herself.
“Weird can be fun, but I like all sorts of fun,” Viktoria said with a grin. She reached over and squeezed Taisia’s arm a bit. “Do you want to go somewhere tonight? We can do something here for a while and then go have some fun? I would like to really experience this place.” Vik loved to have a good time when she could, and Atlantis was so much different than the few places she’d been in her lifetime. She wanted to see all that she could while she could.
“We’re going out, and I’m showing you all the best places,” Taisia confirmed. “Come on, let’s see what I have that’ll fit you.” She said nodding towards her room.
VIKTORIA & ABE
The drinking laws here weren't quite as dumb as they were in America, but Viktoria still rolled her eyes the first couple of times the bartenders had told her that she was underage. She was hardly a lush back in Russia, but it wasn't as nearly as big of a deal to drink in the later teenage years, especially when you were in the presence of family. Her family wasn't here now, but even if she called in her brother, sister, or even her niece who were all of age - Viktoria still wouldn't have been served. Deciding to try her luck at another place, she ventured into a seedier-looking bar called Dive and looked around casually before walking up to the bar to order herself a drink. Vodka. Not that the vodka here would ever be like it was at home.
"Really?" She said after being refused again and sat down with a pout on her face. Sighing, she decided to go ahead and order some nachos and pulled out her phone to text Taisia to see if she would meet her somewhere. She was having so much fun getting to know her niece. Vik tried not to think about how she was a few years older than her but just that the were two girls who could have some fun while she was here. She almost felt more like one of her sisters than a niece. Viktoria's other niece and nephews were so much younger.
"Why if it isn't the lovely Miss Belikova," a new, accented voice called out to her, interrupting her thoughts and mid-text. "It's very good to see you again."
Looking up from her phone, Vik took in the man who stood before her from behind the bar. The man who was definitely a sight to see with his earrings, unusual beard, and bright clothes. It barely took a second to realize exactly who this man was. "Mr. Mazur," she said with a slight glare in his direction. "How in the world did you get here?"
Abe simply smirked and picked up an empty glass and sat it down in front of her. "I've been here as long as your brother and Rose," he said. "Interesting town, yes?"
Viktoria's eyes were still narrowed as she watched him with suspicion. Abe Mazur, or Zmey as some people called him, was a notorious Moroi who dealt in the black market and other unsavory dealings. Sure, he probably had a legitimate business to cover up a lot of his other activities, but those in her village knew the truth about him. Plus, the last time she'd seen him was back in Baia after his dhampir thugs had threatened Rolan and had dragged her out of the club after Rose had made some sort of deal with him.
Thankfully, Vik's nachos had just arrived, so she chomped down on a cheesy chip before acknowledging him. He did still sort of scare her, but she felt less threatened by him here in this town than back home even though it probably should have been the opposite.
"Very interesting," she said finally followed by another chip.
Abe barely smiled at her reply. "It's good to see you safe and sound after our last meeting." That only earned him another glare. "Anyway, bygones, yes?" In a smooth motion, he filled her glass just over halfway full with a clear liquid in a bottle that she didn't recognize but assumed was water. "Family looks out for another."
Family? Viktoria didn't have any idea what in the world he meant, but she could swear that he winked at her before stepping away to help another customer. Confused, she picked up her glass and started to drink. She'd barely taken half a sip when she realized that this wasn't water. No, not at all. It wasn't any ordinary drink or generic vodka either. No, this was Russian vodka. A bit shocked he'd actually served her, she looked over at Abe for an explanation but he was already walking out from the bar and to an office in the back. What a confusing man. She was going to have to ask Taisia more about him when they met up later that day.
Regardless, though, she shrugged to herself and hopped off the bar with her glass and plate of nachos in hand to go find herself a proper table.
VIKTORIA, TAISIA, DIMITRI, & ROSE
“Hey!” Taisia teased as she swatted her mothers hand as they both went for the same piece of pizza, there was enough pizza to feed 50 normal people, with the number of dhampirs sitting around though, it might be enough.
“So, Aunt V, have you seen the candy store here yet? They’ve got the best gummy worms.” She commented. It was a very well known fact that Taisia loved gummy worms, especially with vodka.
Rose rolled her eyes as she reached for another place. “Hey, yourself!” she said with mock sternness, snorting softly as her daughter mentioned gummy worms. There was a wide grin on her face as she looked around the table. Whatever malfunction had brought Viktoria here, it was a nice family reunion of sorts.
Viktoria smiled to herself as she watched the exchanges between mother and daughter. It warmed her heart that their lives had worked out in such a happy way when it wasn’t all that long ago when so there was so much tragedy.
“I haven’t, no,” she said to Taisia. “You’ll have to take me by there soon. “Have any of you ridden the flying horses?” Yes, she was still stuck on seeing actual flying horses.
“We’re going to have to change that!” Taisia insited. “And thought about it, but they’re kind of tempermental with those of us that aren’t as animal friendly as others.” Taisia shrugged.
“Oh, I hadn’t really thought of that, but you might be right,” Viktoria said. There were a lot of animals that weren’t very fond of dhampirs, and it was something she was used to - but flying horses. She was at least going to go check those out even if she didn’t go for a ride on one of them. “But I want to see this candy store.”
Rose nodded in agreement. “I haven’t gone near the flying horses, but one thing we have done is play quidditch,” she told her sister-in-law, grinning. “We’ll have to take you by the Pitch while you’re here. I bet we could even get a pickup game together.”
Dimitri grinned when Rose mentioned Quidditch “It’s amazing. You’ll love it, you fly on magic brooms and it’s a lot of fun.I wasn’t too sure about flying a broom at first but you get used to it.”
He had fallen in love with the game when they’d been sorted into houses while the teams were off on mission at Hogwarts. “And I haven’t gone near the horses either. I’ve watched and they’re beautiful animals but I didn’t want to make them skittish.”
“Quidditch? Like in those wizard movies?” Viktoria looked a little dumbfounded at the idea of playing a fictional game on flying brooms. Because even with the flying horses, flying around on brooms couldn’t be real…. Could it? Damn. “I guess I’ll have to stick to the flying around on brooms instead of flying horses then.”
“Yup!” Taisia confirmed. “It’s so much more fun than it looks and the brooms are really fast, well some of them are.”
“That sounds like fun,” Viktoria said. It was strange how much she’d missed of her brother and sister-in-law’s lives not to mention her niece and her nephew. She was used to not knowing every moment of their lives given that they lived on opposite sides of the globe, but there was so much that had changed. More than she could have ever imagined. “I’ve still got a lot to see and catch up on here.”
“We’re just very glad you’re here,” Dimitri said. “I’ve missed you, I know Rose has too.” He didn’t want to think about the fact that Vika might not stay long, that this was just something that happened. The sheer amount of people showing up made him wonder though but he wasn’t going to let on, he was going to enjoy having his sister here.