Categories > Celebrities > My Chemical Romance > From Russia With Love
It was another two years till she saw Gerard again. She had attended the ceremony welcoming the new soldiers home with her parents, dressed in a crisp pink dress and matching shoes. Her hair was even longer, lapping at the curve of her behind, and her hips and chest had started to fill out, making her feel like less of a kid and more of a woman. She sat on the stage, carefully scanning the faces of the row of soldiers all dressed in black, looking for a familiar face. She barely recognized him, standing among all the other men in matching uniforms. He’d lost the roundness to his face and now he was tall, and muscled, wow was he muscled. He stood tall, proudly among the other soldiers, and when he spotted her looking at him in the crowd, the corner of his mouth pulled up in that familiar smile and he winked at her.
When his name was called out and he walked on stage to receive his training medal, she stood up and clapped and cheered as loud as her voice would allow. It had been so long since they’d seen each other she almost forgot all their teasing and taunting and wanted to hug him till he burst.
After the ceremony, he found her outside by herself and cornered her in the garden.
“Gerard” she breathed, “don’t creep up on me like that!”
He chuckled and pulled her into a hug.
“Its been too long, I missed you a little, kid”
“Were you gone? I didn’t notice” she laughed back, pulling away. His hair was shorter, clipped close to his head, it made his eyes stand out even more than before. She searched his face for a minute, trying to find any trace of the gangly teenager who’d left two years ago.
“What are you lookin’ at?” he asked.
“Nothing. You look different, that’s all” she replied. He broke out in a grin.
“So do you. Still a funny looking kid though”
She punched him lightly in the side of his arm.
“At least you haven’t changed”
A few weeks later her Mother came looking for her in her room. She was on the floor of her room, legs wide apart, head flat against her knee and her arms holding her right foot.
“Ah, to be young and flexible again” her Mother said, leaning against the door frame “is this for ballet or something else?”
“Stretching for ballet” Dominika replied, switching her head to the other knee.
“I wanted to ask you something, can I come in?”
“Sure”
She wandered in and sat on the edge of Dominika’s lacy lilac duvet. Dominika exhaled suddenly and brought her arms together, pushing them out flat on the ground as she lowered her chest closer to the floor.
“The American military is throwing a ball next weekend for the Russian and American soldiers to ‘mingle’” she said, “trying to improve relations”
“You want me to be there?” Dominika said, “I’ll go”
“Well yes, but there’s more to it than that”
“You’re not going to make me speak in front of crowds again are you? Can’t Monika do it? She’s older, you know I hate public speaking!”
“Calm down, Dominika, its nothing like that, I just want you to help our family display a united front with the Americans”
“United front?”
“If they see us being friendly with the Americans they are much more likely to be receptive to them too, Dominika, we need to bring a feeling of togetherness and brotherhood to the people”
“What is it exactly you want me to do?”
“You’re going to go with the Way’s elder son to the ball”
Dominika stood up suddenly and flicked her hair out of her face, eyes wide at her Mother.
“ANYONE but him!”
“Oh come on, you’ve known Gerard since you were a little girl, at least I’m not asking you to go with a complete stranger”
“But he’ll annoy me, or embarrass me, he always does! No, I don’t want to go with him”
“You don’t have to do anything but smile and sit with him, pose for some photos, its really not a big problem, Dominika, just put on a happy front”
“But Mot-“
“Enough. This is bigger than you Dominika, it affects the way the people see us, how can we expect them to trust the Americans if we don’t?”
“Fine, but only for the stupid country” she muttered. Her Mother stared at her incredulously for a moment before rising from the bed and walking out the door, shaking her head.
Dominika looked out her bedroom window down to the neighboring house under the oak trees where the Way family lived, scowling.
Stupid responsibilities.
The military base had been built over an hour away from the royal estate, right on the edge of the bay for ease of access to the docks. Huge black gates four times the height of the average man surrounded it on all sides, and American soldiers guarded the front gates holding weapons that looked almost as big as they were. Razor wire ran right around the perimeter, making sure no one could get in or out. Gerard lived on the base during the week and came home to his parent’s house on the weekends.
It was the Friday night of the ball and she was sat in front of long vanity in her bathroom whilst the stylist did her hair. She watched her Mother in the mirror, who had been hovering incessantly in the background the entire time. The stylist twisted a strand of her hair over the barrel of a curling wand and held it for a moment before letting the perfect curl fall back to Dominika’s shoulder.
“What color is your dress?” she asked.
“Black” her Mother piped up from the background. Dominika shot her a withering look in the mirror, she hated being spoken for.
Voices floated up the stairs, and the stylist hurried to put the finishing touches on her make up. Dominika’s Father called out to them from below.
“Are you ready up there? Private Way is here”
Private Way?! It was the first time she had ever heard anyone refer to Gerard by his official title, and she made a mental note to give him hell for it later. For once she was grateful for her Father’s formalities.
She slipped the straps of the black satin dress over her shoulders and looked at herself in the mirror. She was happy with the way the material clung to her new curves, and the darkness of the satin offset her pale skin and made her eyes pop. The stylist had lightly curled her hair and it fell over her shoulders to brush her waist. Her long eyelashes fanned out perfectly with the help of mascara, and her lips were painted a bright shade of glossy red.
“You look beautiful, Dominika” her mother sighed, “picture perfect”
“Thanks, Ma, at least I’ll look good while I’m being humiliated”
Her mother rolled her eyes and pushed her by her shoulders out the door and down the stairs.
“Here she is!” she called in a singsong voice. Dominika felt the heat rise to her face as she saw Gerard standing at the base of the stairs, dressed to the nines in his formal greens. His hair had grown out a little longer since his return and he wore it slicked back. He looked taken aback for a second as his eyes met hers, but he quickly cracked her a smile.
“You look pretty, kid, you scrub up well”
“Speak for yourself” she replied. He offered her his arm as she reached the bottom and she reluctantly linked it with hers.
“He’s not going to bite you Dominika, be nice” her Mother chided. She looked up at Gerard who shook his hand in the ‘maybe, maybe not’ kind of way.
Part of the deal had been that she would arrive with Gerard so they could be photographed together and they would sit on the official table together with Gerard’s and her parents, her siblings were apparently to be spared from the humiliation of being paraded around like a trophy.
He led her out to his car on the driveway and opened the passenger side door for her.
“You know, you don’t have to act like every second in my presence is torture” he said, not looking at her as he started the car and began to reverse down the driveway. She realized maybe she had been a little too theatrical.
“I apologize” she replied “its not you, its my parents, I don’t like being forced into things”
He took his eyes off the road for a second to smirk at her.
“Oh, I know”
“If you had asked me yourself, I would have said yes” she replied.
“I’ll keep that in mind for next year” he grinned.
When they pulled up at the front of Mess Hall, Gerard hopped out and opened the passenger side door for her. Several photographers dressed in all black approached them as they entered, and made them stop and pose for photos. Gerard kept his arm respectfully at her shoulders but pulled her in closer.
“Smile” he whispered at her “its not so bad”
The mess hall had been decorated beautifully for the event. Circular tables draped in red, white and blue satin table cloths dotted the room, surrounding a huge polished dance floor of dark wood. Long chains of white fairy lights cascaded from the ceiling over their heads. A swing band played quietly in the background and she noted a few couples dancing, at least she had that on her side, she could never imagine Gerard asking her to dance. They were ushered away to a back room to relax until their official announcement was made, and then they’d enter on their cue. One of the things she hated most about royalty was that everything had to be so dramatic.
They sat in the semi-dark room on a red velvet couch, blue light reflecting on their faces from the screen in front of them neither of them paid attention to.
“I can’t believe I’m here with you, how did you pull this off?” she asked.
“I didn’t do anything, it was all your folks, kid” he replied “besides, aren’t you glad you’re here with me and not some creep?”
“The only creep here is you”
“I can be anything you want me to be”
He winked at her and she huffed loudly. The low hum of crowd chatter from the hall outside was starting to get louder, and she was sure her parents would have arrived by now. Static crackled over the speakers and a loud voice boomed.
“Introducing, your co-hosts for tonight, King Dmitri and Queen Oksana”
She tugged on Gerard’s sleeve “that’s our queue” she hissed.
Gerard offered his arm to her again and she took it, together they stepped out into the bright lights to hundreds of pairs of eyes, all on them.
“They are joined of course by our esteemed guests, Donald and Donna Way, their oldest son Gerard and his courtship, Princess Dominika”
Courtship?! She tried to compose herself as she made her way over to the table where their parents were seated. Her Mother smiled at her and she glared back, pinching her leg softly under the table.
“Courtship?!” she hissed through her teeth. Her mother patted her leg and turned her attention back to the crowd.
“Just go along with it Dominika, you promised you’d behave tonight”
Authors Note - I am halfway through this story and have many more chapters completed, please review if you want me to continue and I'll keep putting chapters up :)
When his name was called out and he walked on stage to receive his training medal, she stood up and clapped and cheered as loud as her voice would allow. It had been so long since they’d seen each other she almost forgot all their teasing and taunting and wanted to hug him till he burst.
After the ceremony, he found her outside by herself and cornered her in the garden.
“Gerard” she breathed, “don’t creep up on me like that!”
He chuckled and pulled her into a hug.
“Its been too long, I missed you a little, kid”
“Were you gone? I didn’t notice” she laughed back, pulling away. His hair was shorter, clipped close to his head, it made his eyes stand out even more than before. She searched his face for a minute, trying to find any trace of the gangly teenager who’d left two years ago.
“What are you lookin’ at?” he asked.
“Nothing. You look different, that’s all” she replied. He broke out in a grin.
“So do you. Still a funny looking kid though”
She punched him lightly in the side of his arm.
“At least you haven’t changed”
A few weeks later her Mother came looking for her in her room. She was on the floor of her room, legs wide apart, head flat against her knee and her arms holding her right foot.
“Ah, to be young and flexible again” her Mother said, leaning against the door frame “is this for ballet or something else?”
“Stretching for ballet” Dominika replied, switching her head to the other knee.
“I wanted to ask you something, can I come in?”
“Sure”
She wandered in and sat on the edge of Dominika’s lacy lilac duvet. Dominika exhaled suddenly and brought her arms together, pushing them out flat on the ground as she lowered her chest closer to the floor.
“The American military is throwing a ball next weekend for the Russian and American soldiers to ‘mingle’” she said, “trying to improve relations”
“You want me to be there?” Dominika said, “I’ll go”
“Well yes, but there’s more to it than that”
“You’re not going to make me speak in front of crowds again are you? Can’t Monika do it? She’s older, you know I hate public speaking!”
“Calm down, Dominika, its nothing like that, I just want you to help our family display a united front with the Americans”
“United front?”
“If they see us being friendly with the Americans they are much more likely to be receptive to them too, Dominika, we need to bring a feeling of togetherness and brotherhood to the people”
“What is it exactly you want me to do?”
“You’re going to go with the Way’s elder son to the ball”
Dominika stood up suddenly and flicked her hair out of her face, eyes wide at her Mother.
“ANYONE but him!”
“Oh come on, you’ve known Gerard since you were a little girl, at least I’m not asking you to go with a complete stranger”
“But he’ll annoy me, or embarrass me, he always does! No, I don’t want to go with him”
“You don’t have to do anything but smile and sit with him, pose for some photos, its really not a big problem, Dominika, just put on a happy front”
“But Mot-“
“Enough. This is bigger than you Dominika, it affects the way the people see us, how can we expect them to trust the Americans if we don’t?”
“Fine, but only for the stupid country” she muttered. Her Mother stared at her incredulously for a moment before rising from the bed and walking out the door, shaking her head.
Dominika looked out her bedroom window down to the neighboring house under the oak trees where the Way family lived, scowling.
Stupid responsibilities.
The military base had been built over an hour away from the royal estate, right on the edge of the bay for ease of access to the docks. Huge black gates four times the height of the average man surrounded it on all sides, and American soldiers guarded the front gates holding weapons that looked almost as big as they were. Razor wire ran right around the perimeter, making sure no one could get in or out. Gerard lived on the base during the week and came home to his parent’s house on the weekends.
It was the Friday night of the ball and she was sat in front of long vanity in her bathroom whilst the stylist did her hair. She watched her Mother in the mirror, who had been hovering incessantly in the background the entire time. The stylist twisted a strand of her hair over the barrel of a curling wand and held it for a moment before letting the perfect curl fall back to Dominika’s shoulder.
“What color is your dress?” she asked.
“Black” her Mother piped up from the background. Dominika shot her a withering look in the mirror, she hated being spoken for.
Voices floated up the stairs, and the stylist hurried to put the finishing touches on her make up. Dominika’s Father called out to them from below.
“Are you ready up there? Private Way is here”
Private Way?! It was the first time she had ever heard anyone refer to Gerard by his official title, and she made a mental note to give him hell for it later. For once she was grateful for her Father’s formalities.
She slipped the straps of the black satin dress over her shoulders and looked at herself in the mirror. She was happy with the way the material clung to her new curves, and the darkness of the satin offset her pale skin and made her eyes pop. The stylist had lightly curled her hair and it fell over her shoulders to brush her waist. Her long eyelashes fanned out perfectly with the help of mascara, and her lips were painted a bright shade of glossy red.
“You look beautiful, Dominika” her mother sighed, “picture perfect”
“Thanks, Ma, at least I’ll look good while I’m being humiliated”
Her mother rolled her eyes and pushed her by her shoulders out the door and down the stairs.
“Here she is!” she called in a singsong voice. Dominika felt the heat rise to her face as she saw Gerard standing at the base of the stairs, dressed to the nines in his formal greens. His hair had grown out a little longer since his return and he wore it slicked back. He looked taken aback for a second as his eyes met hers, but he quickly cracked her a smile.
“You look pretty, kid, you scrub up well”
“Speak for yourself” she replied. He offered her his arm as she reached the bottom and she reluctantly linked it with hers.
“He’s not going to bite you Dominika, be nice” her Mother chided. She looked up at Gerard who shook his hand in the ‘maybe, maybe not’ kind of way.
Part of the deal had been that she would arrive with Gerard so they could be photographed together and they would sit on the official table together with Gerard’s and her parents, her siblings were apparently to be spared from the humiliation of being paraded around like a trophy.
He led her out to his car on the driveway and opened the passenger side door for her.
“You know, you don’t have to act like every second in my presence is torture” he said, not looking at her as he started the car and began to reverse down the driveway. She realized maybe she had been a little too theatrical.
“I apologize” she replied “its not you, its my parents, I don’t like being forced into things”
He took his eyes off the road for a second to smirk at her.
“Oh, I know”
“If you had asked me yourself, I would have said yes” she replied.
“I’ll keep that in mind for next year” he grinned.
When they pulled up at the front of Mess Hall, Gerard hopped out and opened the passenger side door for her. Several photographers dressed in all black approached them as they entered, and made them stop and pose for photos. Gerard kept his arm respectfully at her shoulders but pulled her in closer.
“Smile” he whispered at her “its not so bad”
The mess hall had been decorated beautifully for the event. Circular tables draped in red, white and blue satin table cloths dotted the room, surrounding a huge polished dance floor of dark wood. Long chains of white fairy lights cascaded from the ceiling over their heads. A swing band played quietly in the background and she noted a few couples dancing, at least she had that on her side, she could never imagine Gerard asking her to dance. They were ushered away to a back room to relax until their official announcement was made, and then they’d enter on their cue. One of the things she hated most about royalty was that everything had to be so dramatic.
They sat in the semi-dark room on a red velvet couch, blue light reflecting on their faces from the screen in front of them neither of them paid attention to.
“I can’t believe I’m here with you, how did you pull this off?” she asked.
“I didn’t do anything, it was all your folks, kid” he replied “besides, aren’t you glad you’re here with me and not some creep?”
“The only creep here is you”
“I can be anything you want me to be”
He winked at her and she huffed loudly. The low hum of crowd chatter from the hall outside was starting to get louder, and she was sure her parents would have arrived by now. Static crackled over the speakers and a loud voice boomed.
“Introducing, your co-hosts for tonight, King Dmitri and Queen Oksana”
She tugged on Gerard’s sleeve “that’s our queue” she hissed.
Gerard offered his arm to her again and she took it, together they stepped out into the bright lights to hundreds of pairs of eyes, all on them.
“They are joined of course by our esteemed guests, Donald and Donna Way, their oldest son Gerard and his courtship, Princess Dominika”
Courtship?! She tried to compose herself as she made her way over to the table where their parents were seated. Her Mother smiled at her and she glared back, pinching her leg softly under the table.
“Courtship?!” she hissed through her teeth. Her mother patted her leg and turned her attention back to the crowd.
“Just go along with it Dominika, you promised you’d behave tonight”
Authors Note - I am halfway through this story and have many more chapters completed, please review if you want me to continue and I'll keep putting chapters up :)
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