Vampire Academy 1. Oh Hell No

A/N: Hey! So this takes place in the church at court. I didn't like Rose's reaction to Dimitri telling her his love had faded. I wanted her response to be something more in the lines of being a badass. The beginning part in italics is a scene from "Spirit Bound". Everything else is mine!

**Disclaimer: The lovely Richelle Mead owns the VA series. Although I wouldn't mind owning Dimitri... ; ) **

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_I turned from him, trying to calm my churning emotions. When I looked back, our eyes locked, power and electricity burning between us. Dimitri could ignore it all he wanted, but that connection-that deep calling of our souls-was still in there. I wanted to touch him, not just with this brushing of my leg but with everything. I wanted to wrap him in my arms and hold him against me, reassuring him that we could do anything together. Without even realizing it, I reached toward him needing that touch. He sprang up like I was a snake, and all of his guardians shot forward, braced for what he might do. _

_But he did nothing. Nothing except stare at me with a look that made my blood run cold. Like I was something strange and bad. "Rose. Please stop. Please stay away." He was working hard to stay calm. _

_I shot up, now as angry and frustrated as him. I had a feeling if I stayed, we'd both snap. In an undertone, I murmured, "This isn't over. I won't give up on you." _

"_I've given up on you," he said back, voice also soft. "Love fades. Mine has." I stared at him in disbelief. All this time, he'd never phrased it like that. His protests had always been about some greater good, about the remorse he felt over being a monster or how it had scarred him from love. __I've given up on you. Love fades. Mine has. _

_I backed up, the sting of those words hitting me as hard as if he'd slapped me. Something shifted in his features, like maybe he knew how much he'd hurt me._

I clenched my fists together near my sides. I felt the slight tingle in my eyes as traitor tears threatened to spill from their hiding place.

Through everything I've sacrificed for him I never felt guilt. Never once did I feel guilty for the actions I took because I always believed that if I could bring him back, it'd be worth it. I always kept a firm hold on hope.

But now, after hearing him utter those words, my hope shattered-and was soon replaced with anger. It was then Dimitri's turn to stare in disbelief as my emotions shifted from hurt to fury.

I no longer held a look of pain, hell I didn't even bother putting up a mask as he would foolishly do. I could feel my features morphing into a look of pure hatred as my vision turned red. I hadn't realized that one of the balled fists at my side started to lift up toward his face until it was too late.

At a speed I've never knew I had in me, I cocked my fist back and with explosive force, swung out at his head.

My fist collided with his face making a slight cracking sound as I punched his left eye, the force of the blow knocked his head back a bit and he stumbled backwards. He didn't fall to the ground but nonetheless, he was in complete shock.

I noticed that something in the way he was looking at me said he felt he deserved every swing I could take out on him. And man did that sound like a good idea. But deep down I knew I didn't have it in me to strike him again.

With the most menacing tone I could use, I locked gazes with him and cooly said, "Never in my life have I_ ever_ felt so much _regret_. And not until this moment have I ever been _ashamed_ of someone I _loved", _with every word I spoke my voice became even more ice-cold,

"Do you think I _like_ being put through misery when I could just choose a normal life? The answer _was _yes." He flinched from my use of past tense. This only fueled my anger. I was enjoying watching him suffer.

"I _used _to believed I could get back the brave, good man I once fell in love with. _Now you're no better a man than the monster you were._" Hurt washed over his entire face. He cleared his throat as if he wanted to say something and took a step towards me.

But I wasn't going to let that happen, I put up a hand to stop him but he ignored the gesture and grabbed the hand that was held up. _Big mistake. _Once again at a speed I didn't recognize, I wrenched my hand back and went to slap him across the cheek.

This time however, I didn't reach my target. His guardian reflexes kicked in and he grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back. I could feel his hot breath near my ear as he whispered in a strangled tone, "Rose, just stop."

That just made me snap even more. I stomped my heel into his foot and with my free arm, elbowed him in the gut. His grip on me loosened slightly and that was all I needed. I swirled around and kneed him right in the groin. You'd think he'd drop to the floor but he didn't, instead he crouched over ever so slightly and gave a muffled grunt.

However, I did manage to escape his hold. I didn't waste anytime. If there's anything I've learned from him, it was to _never hesitate. _I gave a roundhouse kick to his stomach putting all my weight into it, he went flying back in the pew where a few Moroi shrieked and ran out of the way. In a flash I was standing over him, my breath was labored but I still kept a stern bravado.

'_Love doesn't fade_', I hissed using my fingers as quotations marks for emphasis. "Only a coward could use such a pathetic excuse like that." Some part of me knew I was being irrational but I just didn't give a shit. I'd finally snapped.

"I'm beginning to wonder what it was I ever saw in you", my eyes turned to slits, "You Mr. Belikov", I knew dropping his guardian title was hitting below the belt, but I just couldn't stop, "have been the biggest mistake I've ever taken a chance on. I should have killed you when I had the chance-no, that makes me no better than you, I wish I'd never met you."

My eyes started to water again and I knew I had to go before I broke down. In a monotone voice I spat, "You want me to 'stay away', then that's fine. But if you _ever_ touch me again or come within ten feet of me, I won't hold back next time. Your injuries will be so extensive, you'll be on bed rest for a month."

At the end of my little speech I swear if looks could kill, he'd be long gone by now. Everyone in the church just stared in disbelief. I was even a little shocked that his guardians didn't intervene. I guess they thought if he was strigoi he could defend himself.

I didn't spare another glance at Dimitri because I didn't want to witness his reaction. If he was threw with me, plain and simple, then so was I with him. And with that thought, I abruptly turned on my heel and ran the hell out of there.

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A/N: I've had this idea milling around my mind for awhile now. I know this chapter is kind of short, but I'll update the next chapter soon.

I have a rough outline of the plot for this story. Most of the action scenes have already been written so I'm just fitting all the bits and pieces together with some fluff in the hopes of pulling together a decent story. So bare with me at times if I get writers block... I'm open to suggestions as well, so read and review!

~Fabulous


	2. Just Leave

A/N: I was grinning like an idiot from the feedback I'm getting so far for this story. It's one thing to just read a story, but to actually write one and then get all the positive responses on top of that, it's an awesome feeling. I'm giddy like a toddler with a big bar of chocolate! :D This chapter was originally divided up into two short ones, but I felt you guys deserved more. Enjoy!

ps-next chapter _might_ be told in the POV of a certain russian... so let me know if I should continue in RPOV or change it up a bit?

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I ran until I reached a deserted garden on the east side of court. Even though it was night, it was beautiful. I could only imagine what it looked like in the sunlight.

I sat down on a stone bench, my chest was heaving not from the running but from my anger. I couldn't believe I said those things to Dimitri but at the same time I was glad.

I'd gone through so much pain thinking I lost him, then I went through so much trouble to hunt him down and in the end save him. But did I ever get a '_Thank you Rose for getting my soul back'_ ? Hell no!

It was _Lissa_ he was pledging his undying gratitude towards. All the while giving me the cold shoulder as if I meant nothing to him. But now I guess that's exactly what I am. _Nothing. His love has faded._ I couldn't stop the tears that started to flow freely down my cheeks.

I tried to hold back the sobs that erupted from my mouth, but it was useless. I could feel the world crushing down on me. Pain. There, was so much pain that I had kept bottled up these last few weeks and it had finally started to spill out.

I was consumed in my own little world of misery. I slid my body off the bench and slumped down into the grass. I curled up in a ball and let the darkness take me.

Hold on a minute,_ darkness_? I hadn't noticed before, put my vision was still red, something wasn't right. I felt like I couldn't breathe. Dark shadows were clutching my throat and severing off the air supply. My chest tightened from the sensation of sharp blades piercing my flesh. I need to make this stop, stop the torture I was in. _This wasn't me. _ And as I thought those words, it was as if a bucket of ice cold water had been dumped on me. Everything I'd just experienced wasn't of my own doing-or at least not _completely_ of my own free will. The irrational action, the dark shadows, this was the product of spirit's side effects.

The strength in my fight with Dimitri, the consuming anger I felt, the suffocating hurt... it all clicked in place in this moment. I had sensed it in the church, but as soon as I felt it, it was too late. The darkness had taken control. It was as if my emotions we lit on fire and they took action on their own accord.

I had pent up darkness from Lissa and Dimitri had set it off. _Dimitri._ I used to find comfort in the thought of depending on him if the darkness got bad, but _he doesn't care anymore_. I thought bitterly, yet I pulled myself back this time.

Somehow I snapped out of it. I couldn't help but wonder how far could I go until I couldn't fight it off anymore. What will be my limit? It took a certain amount of drama to set me off. What about next time?

I'd just attacked Dimitri, what if I really hurt someone next time? I almost killed Jesse Zeklos before at the academy, but I had someone there to help me. And then there was the intense mental break down. I would go crazy like Anna did. Hell, I probably am already crazy.

My emotions were all over the place. But two were the most dominant. Fear and Anxiousness. What happened in the church, whether it was a spirit-induced rampage or not, I still felt a deep satisfaction to finally release my frustration onto Dimitri.

Yet, the verbal threats and physical violence didn't seem to be enough. I could still feel the dull pulse of rage inside of me. I couldn't take it anymore, I need a break from the world. And that's when the idea popped in my head. _Just leave._

It felt like the cowardly thing to do, run away, but if I could just leave court for a few days, and clear my head, _what harm could it cause?_ I thought innocently. Lissa was safe here with all the guardians and wards, nothing would happen to her.

I stood up with a new determination. I wasn't going to let what Dimitri said effect me. I was _Rose Hathaway_. _Strigoi killing badass_. If he wanted me out of his life, then so be it. But that didn't mean I had to stick around and be troubled by his presence, and if I was honest with myself, if I just so happened to run into him again, I might not be able to restrain myself from breaking his arm or a few other bodily parts...

People say violence isn't the answer, but when you've been raised to do the complete opposite, it's kind of difficult not to vent your problems out through physical contact. Maybe it was the stress I've been through the last month, but it seemed my heart was becoming hollow and cold. Considering my paperwork death sentence from Hans, my life wasn't getting any better. I need some time for myself. A vacation for a little 'Rose alone time' was in order...

I started walking back to my room. I had a small stash of money saved up after returning to court with Lissa. I realized I needed to keep an emergency fund seeing as I was always jumping into situations where I needed a lot of cash.

I felt bad for using Adrian's card in Vegas so I gave it back to him and swore I'd pay every penny back. I felt remorse for using up his trust fund. It just didn't really feel right using someone else's money. Plus I wanted the privacy to be left alone. If I left, he would be able to tract me down again.

I didn't want to be someone's burden. But jewelry from a certain strigoi didn't count. I had somehow managed to keep the extravagant gifts that strigoi Dimitri had given me. I knew the diamonds were real and quite valuable so I smiled knowing I could finally finance my own 'adventure' without being a hindrance to anyone else.

But how was I going to leave court unnoticed? Lost in my own thoughts, I didn't notice the figure in front of me until I collided with it. (some guardian I am) "Umph! Sorry", I muttered.

A deep male voice chuckled as he said, "No no, the pleasure's all mine". Ambrose. Just the person I needed to talk to. Before I could quip back a smart ass response, I was crushed to his chest in a bear hug.

"Rose, how are you holding up? Belikov's an ass. I'd say I'd sock the bastard but it seems you've beaten me to it", I was shocked. I guess news traveled fast at court. In true Rose fashion I pulled out of the hug and flicked my hair back, "Well I'm not gonna stop you if want to. Maybe you could give him a broken nose to match that black eye", I retorted.

He just smirked and shook his head, "Maybe..." and he winked. I gave him a death glare and all the easygoingness left his face. Grinning I said, "Listen I need your help with something..."

The plan was set. I was meeting up with Ambrose in a half hour at the court's garage compound. I was currently packing in my room. I didn't want to take a whole lot with me. I flung a duffle bag onto my bed, I already had most of the essentials packed inside. With toiletries and clothes aside, I mused over what to take. I grabbed my workout trainers and tossed them in next to my sparring clothes. I tucked the strigoi jewelry securely in a small side pocket. Then I packed my back-up stake along with an extra holster that I could strap to my leg.

Next was a charm Lissa had given me, it was a simple silver bracelet, but it would disguise my physical appearence. Lastly, I hestitated as I went to my closet, buried under a heap of clothes was a box. I lifted the lid and inside sat the stake Lissa used on Dimitri to change him back. Don't ask me how I got it, let's just say, it wasn't easy finding it.

I don't know why I kept it either, it was a reminder of all the hardships I went through for it's purpose. And now all that effort was worthless. Why change a strigoi back if they're going to do nothing but mope over what they've done instead of embracing their second chance at life? I shook my head and packed it anyway, if anything I could use it as an extra spare if need be.

Ambrose had told the guards on duty that he was going out to a mall close by court to buy a gift for the queen. I involuntarily shuddered, at a mental image of the old bag going at it with him. I honestly didn't understand their 'relationship' arrangement and never would. Moroi biting dhampirs was a taboo thing. But if you're going to be a blood whore why not do it with someone that's at least hot? Not leathery...

I finished up packing and slung my bag on one shoulder. I grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and wrote a quick note for Lissa. I told her I was fine and just needed a little space for a few days. I knew she didn't like me leaving but I hoped the note would calm her down and reassure her it was only temporary. I still wanted to be her guardian, so I knew I had to come back soon. I placed the note just under my door. It stuck out far enough so that you could read my handwriting sprawled across the front with her name on it. She would eventually find it.

I started walking to the garage where Ambrose was waiting. Since he was given permission to use one of the court's vehicles, we didn't have to steal anything. I was going to hide in the trunk of the car. Not really what I had envisioned, but after swinging at a supposed 'strigoi' in the middle of a church and almost harming Moroi in the process made me look like a bit of a high risk, which I noted was ridiculous if they still believed Dimitri was a strigoi yet he could stand in a church?

Yep, bulletproof logic there. Either way, it would be suspicious if I suddenly left court. I hadn't checked on Lissa yet so I decided to slip into her head, joy was flooding the bond as she was in the middle of healing someone.

Through her eyes I saw her hand gently placed on Dimitri's injured eye. The bruise vanished and he smiled at her adoringly. _Son of a bitch!_ I thought. How dare she heal him! And as if she could sense my thoughts she jerked her hand away from him and stood up quickly, _Rose?_ she asked through the bond.

I defensively pulled myself out of her head and put up my mental walls. How the hell did she sense my thoughts? I thought the bond was oneway. I felt my pocket vibrate and I instinctively pulled my cellphone out and answered it.

"Hathaway", I answered in a professional tone. "Rose why did you push him! Can't you see he's still recovering!", Lissa all but screamed in the phone. I couldn't believe she was defending him after what he'd said to me.

I suddenly felt furious again, " For your information _Lissa_ he pushed _me_", I hissed and immediately clamped the phone shut. I was seething when I met up with Ambrose. "Let's go". Were my only words to him as I turned my back on the life I was leaving behind.

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A/N: Hey guys! Sooo... whatcha think? Good, bad, confusing? It's my first fanfic so critiques are welcomed! I'll update every Monday so that way you have something to look forward to at the beginning of the week and _maybe_ on Fridays to give you a little somethin' somethin' for the weekend. ; ) Please review! That little button down there will give you a cookie if you do...

~Fabulous


	3. Revelations

A/N: Hello there! It seems the more chapters I write, the bigger they get. This chapter's told in multiple POV's. Nobody really commented on my POV idea. I wonder if anyone actually reads the author notes... Anyway, shout out to **Moonchilde, **your review inspired the DPOV. : ) Hope you like it.

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RPOV

My eyes bulged out of their sockets when I saw the car Ambrose picked out. It was an Aston Martin One-77. "Ambrose! What the hell are you thinking! We can't take this one! You're supposed to seem unsuspicious, and _not attraction attention!_ Rolling out of here in a million dollar car isn't doing that!" I tried to keep my voice down, but this moron was really pissing me off.

"Hey I've got to benefit from this some how. Why not take one of the guardian cars? This beauty needs some fresh air too", he argued all whistle petting the hood worshipingly.

I couldn't believe this car was reserved for the guardians. You'd think the queen and the queen alone would be the only one to even sit in it, let alone drive it. But I guess it was just another perk of being a royal guardian.

Protect the royalty and you're rewarded with the chance to drive a sweet ass car. I only wished they'd focus more on raising the salary of guardians instead of bribing them with flashy super sport cars. But I guess that's the world of politics for you.

I rolled my eyes, I was starting to salivate from the sight of this vehicle, but three facts remained. "Okay one, sport cars never have a whole lot of trunk space, two this attracts attention, and three they'll never let you leave with this, it's too valuable", it pained me to say it all. More than anything, I wanted to roar this gorgeous beast to life and experience the mind blowing ride, but I needed to be practical and this wasn't it.

After a bit of arguing, we both settled on a metallic gray Chevrolet Camaro. As I climbed into the trunk I distantly heard him grumble _should of been the Corvette... _What's with it in men and cars?

I'll admit the cargo area wasn't too roomy. It reminded me of when Mikhail had stuff me, Eddie and Lissa into a Dodge Charger when we left to break Victor out. My pulse quickened as the car roared to life and the reality of what I was doing suddenly hit me.

I. Was. Leaving. I quickly brushed the nervousness aside. I _needed _this...

DPOV

After Rose's 'outburst' I was escorted back to my room. Well, _apartment _seemed to be the proper term. I was grateful to not be caged in the cell they had kept me in, but to actually give me a one bedroom apartment in the guardian housing section of court was far too generous then what I deserved.

I shouldn't even be allowed at court. After what I've done as a strigoi, they should of sent me straight off to Tarasov. I was a murderer, so I should be treated as such. But I was hardly in the position to argue my living arrangements. I cringed at the word _living. _I didn't deserve to live after all the souls I tortured and lives I had taken.

I was lying on the couch in the main living area. Three guardians were inside the apartment with me, wearing bored expressions. Without a doubt believing that guarding me was a complete waste of their talent as well as their time, and I couldn't agree more.

Who really wants to watch a broken man brood all day long when they could be protecting lives and fighting off threats? There were two stationed outside the front door as well, and again, I thought, _complete waste. _Our numbers were dropping and wasting time using guardians as security to a potential threat was incredulous.

But as I laid down I couldn't help but keep running through the last few moments over and over again in my head...

_Rose turned from me, trying to keep her control. But as she turned her leg brushed up against mine and my hand possessively twitched towards her. I balled my fist and moved my hand back to my lap. But as she glanced back at me, my soul couldn't help but beg for her touch. My entire body hummed to life as the familiar electricity coursed between us. The heart that I had now believed was solid ice seemed to melt in her gaze. _

_And just as my body had reacted, her hand stretched out towards my balled fist. I don't think she had meant to do it, but nonetheless I abruptly jumped away from her body, and successful catching the attention of my guards. I tried my best to compose the tone of my voice and facial features as I said, "Rose. Please stop. Please stay away"._

_Why couldn't she __**understand**__? I can't be around her. I can't be with her. It's just too much to bear. She sprang up, frustration flaring in her face, "This isn't over. I won't give up on you." she whispered. The next few words I spoke was the biggest regret of my life-entirely because it was a complete lie. _

"_I've given up on you," I said. I tried to keep my voice low in the hopes she couldn't hear it. "Love fades. Mine has." She backed away from me completely taken off guard from my comment. But as the poison of those words sunk in, hurt colored her face. _

_I immediately wanted to erase what I'd just said. I've done so much to her already, and here I was __**still**__ causing her pain. All I wanted to do in this moment was grab her in my arms and tell her I didn't mean any of it and that I was so so sorry._

_But I couldn't, no matter how much my soul yearned for her, I could never forgive myself for what I'd done as a monster. I didn't deserve her comfort and love and I never really did. She was unearthly, a goddess. No man could ever be worthy of Roza... my thoughts came to a halt as I sensed something change in her. _

_Her eyes that were full of so much pain, changed. Those beautiful eyes that always contained warmth suddenly lost all heat and froze over. Her entire face transformed into a cruel and sadistic tone. All trace of color was gone. Her gaze was penetrating and intimidating, at this point she looked eerily like a strigoi. The shear thought of it made my spine shudder. _

_And that's when I felt the sudden sharp pain as her fisted collided with my face. I didn't see it coming at all, the blow forced my head to knock backwards a bit. I stumbled in utter shock. Rose just punched me. This wasn't like any of our sparring lessons back at the academy, before it would have been written off as an accident, __**unintentional. **__But right now, this was all intent on her part. _

_I knew she had a temper, but she would __**never**__ intentionally harm anyone. That was one of the things I loved most about her. She always put people before herself, and never inflicted harm unless there was a threat. __Threat__. The word echoed inside my head. That's exactly what I was at this moment. Something causing her harm. _

_I tried to resist it, but I couldn't block the memories that flooded my mind at this moment. __**Everything**__ I'd done to her as a strigoi flashed before me and I mentally cringed from the images. Looking at her now, I deserved every ounce of damage she could inflict on me. _

_She locked gazes with me and my body froze at her words. "Never in my life have I __**ever **__felt so much __**regret**__. And not until this moment have I ever been __**ashamed **__of someone I__** loved**__", my mind was too shocked to process what she was saying. _

"_Do you think I __**like**__ being put through misery when I could just choose a normal life? The answer __**was**__ yes." I flinched from her tone. It was so cold._

_But she just continued on,_ _"I __**used **__to believed I could get back the brave, good man I once fell in love with. __**Now you're no better a man than the monster you were**__." The mask I was so desperately trying to hold in place, vanished. I was consumed with pain from hearing her say those words. I could never forgive myself for what I'd done, but I kept a small hold on hope that maybe I could get through this. And that hold was Roza. _

_She kept a faith in me when no one else would. She held the key to my soul. It hurt so much to see her disappointed in me. Whatever ragged thread of hope I had in me, slipped away at that moment. _

_I felt a lump in my throat as I felt my emotions of despair come running back. Without out her strength, I no longer held a purpose in this world. I had to tell her the truth, I needed to confess my true feelings. By doing this maybe I would somehow undo the damage I'd done to her. I cleared my throat and stepped towards her. _

_She raised a hand to stop me, but I foolishly ignored the gesture and instead grabbed her hand in mine. My body heated up from the simple touch. I had to tell her. Every fiber in my being was screaming for more. But she defensively withdrew her hand at once. _

_I suddenly felt cold without her touch. And once again, she tried striking me in the face. Unfortunately, my old guardian reflexes took control. I grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back. I could feel my body pressed against hers, and the heat my body was longing for was back. I lowered my head, and in a voice I didn't recognize whispered "Rose, just stop." _

_Her response was to ramp her heel into my foot and elbow me in the gut. I didn't have a good grip on her, so she was able to flip her body around and face me. The proximity of our bodies only fueled the heat I felt for her and it raised into an inferno. I needed to complete the embrace. Right now all I wanted to do was capture her delicate lips in mine. _

_I wasn't expecting what happened next though, she gripped my shoulders with both hands and kneed my manhood with brute force. The pain was excruciating, my stance became uneven as I bit down on my tongue and stifled a groan. _

_By this time, Rose had broken free. But no sooner had she disentangled herself, her right leg collided with my stomach sending me back a few feet down the pew. I landed very disgracefully on my back. _

_She was a lot stronger than I remembered. Before I could even sit up Rose was hovering over me. When she spoke, it was authoritative, "'Love doesn't fade', she hissed using her fingers as quotations marks. "Only a coward could use such a pathetic excuse like that." Every word she spoke made my guilty grow darker. _

"_I'm beginning to wonder what it was I ever saw in you", she gave me a piercing glare, "You Mr. Belikov", it really hurt for her to use my name in a professional tone. She didn't even bother to use my old guardian title, and that made everything that much worse. I was an outcast to the guardian society now, she continued "have been the biggest mistake I've ever taken a chance on. I should have killed you when I had the chance-no, that makes me no better than you, I wish I'd never met you." _

_Every letter of every word in each sentence was like daggers to my frozen heart. Every wound permanently planted and never to heal again. I could tell she was struggling to grasp onto a calm composure, and her eyes were starting to water. _

_In an emotionless tone she said, "You want me to 'stay away', then that's fine. But if you __**ever **__touch me again or come within ten feet of me, I won't hold back next time. Your injuries will be so extensive, you'll be on bed rest for a month."_

_I was at a loss for words, she had become so vicious and not the humorous, optimist she usually was. I couldn't help but blame myself for this. I had turned her into this savage storm. _

_But a part of me wondered if maybe she was still struggling with the princess's spirit side effects. I was caught in between the two thoughts trying to decipher which was true, or if they both were. _

_As I mused, it was then that I noticed the group of guardians and moroi surrounding me and I looked up just in time to see Rose's retreating figure. _

I was relieved I hadn't confessed my true feelings. She had obviously had enough with me and she was dating Ivashkov. _She's already moved on. _A voice in my head whispered, but the thought of another man holding _my Roza_ was unbearable...

Before I could continue my agonizing thoughts, the door to the apartment opened. I stood up just in time to see Princess Valisa Dragomir enter the room flanged by two of her guardians. The voice in my head whispered that Rose should be with her, not these strangers. Brushing it aside, I bowed and greeted her "Princess Dragomir".

She held up a hand, "Please just call me Lissa". I just gave her a sheepish grin in response. The gesture felt foreign, I just couldn't accept displaying or experiencing any joy anymore. I didn't deserve the privilege.

The door closed and she sat down on the couch, she gestured for me to do the same and I obliged. "How are you? I just heard what happened." she questioned. "I'm fine Prin- Lissa. It was just a misunderstanding that's all." I tried my best to keep a calm exterior.

"Dimitri she attacked you! How could that be a misunderstanding? I swear Rose is so unstable..." she couldn't finish her sentence. And I didn't want her to, Rose had every right to do what she did.

"What happened exactly, how did this all start?" she quickly asked. "Well I was attending service when she came in and sat next to me, at first she didn't say anything, but towards the end, she started asking questions and brought up our previous relationship-" I was cut off by her outburst.

"Damn it Rose! Why can't she take a hint? I know you guys had something together, but why the hell can't she see you need time to sort it all out!" I'd never seen the princess this upset before. She was always the picture of calm, I distantly wondered if this was her dark spirit side seeping through.

"Lissa, it's okay really, just let it go." I said in a soothing tone. She seemed to calm down a bit and turned to face me now, "Okay, I'll drop it, but the least I can do is erase the damage she caused", and before I could even protest her hand was on my bruised eye. Waves of hot and cold washed through my senses. I was still amazed by the element of spirit and all the powers it held.

The soreness vanished, but as I glanced at her trying to send a message of gratitude, she ripped her hand away and jumped up. A look of shock plastered on her face. In a flash she had her cellphone out and dialed a number, a female voice answered, "Rose why did you push him! Can't you see he's still recovering!". I stiffened, I didn't want Rose blamed for what I'd provoked out of her.

Lissa's eyes grew wider, "What's that supposed to mean? Hello? ROSE!". She slid her phone back into her bag. "I can't believe she hung up on me", she muttered as she started pacing back and forth.

I couldn't take it anymore, I was causing a wedge in their friendship. "Princess this has to stop", I didn't want to address her by a nickname. "You've been jumping to the wrong conclusion." She stopped her pacing and gazed at me. "Then enlighten me, I thought you didn't want Rose anywhere near you", her tone almost sinister from agitation.

"I do, but what happened in the church wasn't her fault. It was mine. I said something I shouldn't have." I could feel my mask slipping.

"What did you say to her?", she questioned. "I told her my love had faded, that I had given up on her" I confessed. Her eyes, if it was even possible, went wider. "You, you said you didn't love her?" I couldn't bring myself to speak anymore, I was too ashamed.

LPOV

All this time I was too absorbed in myself to even realize how all of this would effect Rose. Dimitri never told me about their conversations they had once he was turned back and I never pushed him to. I thought it would just cause him more stress, but now I felt like an idiot.

My best friend just got the love of her life back, and he did nothing but just break her heart all over again. It suddenly dawned on me, that Rose's feelings probably mirrored what I felt for Christian. If anything, they were most likely stronger. Christian was my world, and time spend away from him was terrible. I couldn't even begin to comprehend what it would feel like if he suddenly died or worse, was turned strigoi.

The dark fog that had been clouding my mind just a few minutes ago, cleared away. It was like a breath of fresh air had swept into me. With that clarity, I started to become engulfed by anguish and guilty. _What had I just done to Rose? _Throughout the past few days, she's needed me more than anything and what have I done in return? Brush her aside and comfort the man who broke her heart.

I looked back at Dimitri now, his aura was gray with a few rays of light here and there, he obviously felt bad for what he did to Rose, yet I still believed he deserved much more worse. I grinned knowing despite her pain, Rose stood up for herself.

I glared at Dimitri now in disgust. "Maybe bringing you back was a mistake." I said to him, my voice cold, "I thought that if I could restore you, Rose could finally find peace and be happy again. But now I see that was a foolish assumption on my part, because the only thing this has brought to her is more pain. Something she's never deserved."

It was funny how I'm usually never the one to bring someone down or act on my emotions before fully thinking it through, that was always Rose's thing. But I guess now I could see the appeal. It felt wonderful to speak my mind in that moment and defend someone I love.

I started walking towards the door. I had to find Rose and apologize. She is my sister and I was treating her unfairly. I need to make things right.

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A/N: The links for the pictures of the cars mentioned in this chapter are on my profile. So check them out if you want and don't forget to review!

~Fabulous


	4. Donuts

A/N: Surprise! I know I said I'd only update on Mondays and possibly Fridays, but where I live, we just got A TON of snow. So school's closed! *Happy Dance* This is back to RPOV so here's the new chapter in all it's shinning glory...

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After the car had traveled a mile away from court, I was let out of the trunk and into the passenger's seat. At first I protested because I wanted to be the one driving, but Ambrose whined saying this was the only fun he's had in awhile. And who was I to ruin his happiness when he had done me this huge favor.

To keep up appearances, we actually did stop by a mall to get a present. I stayed in the car, while Ambrose quickly went into the mall and promised to be back soon. This was both a good thing and bad. It was a great opportunity to steal the car and just ditch him, but I quickly scratched that idea. And unfortunately this left me alone with my thoughts and problems. So I focused on blocking Lissa's bond out.

Ever since our little 'spat', her emotions were all over the place and I kept getting the sensation of being pulled into her head. But I managed to keep her out, I just didn't have the patience for her right now. I went and turned my cellphone off too just in case she realized she could nag me through that as well.

I had started to get a headache from being outside the wards. My mental barriers against the ghosts were firmly in place, but that didn't mean I couldn't escape the migraine I was developing. I closed my eyes and places my hands on my lap and focused on calming my breathing and mind.

But that didn't last too long, I heard Ambrose pop the trunk and my eyes snapped open as I turned around and watched him place a glossy white bag into it. I didn't even want begin to imagine what he had just purchased. "So, where to?", he asked as he climbed back into the driver's seat and started the engine.

"Missoula, there's a bank out there where I can set up an account." I said. "Ah yes for these 'assets' you have, look if you want I have this contact who can give you cash if they're of any value. Plus he's not too far from here." , he said. That was kind of weird, but hey, why the hell not? "Could I get a trade in the next hour?" I asked. "We can try", he said pulling his phone out and dialing a number...

I was astonished at the amount of money I got for a few of the pieces of jewelry. And the cash was even legit! It was still strange to find that Ambrose was in connection with someone like this, but I didn't put too much thought into it. I was still going to a bank to establish an account, but at least now I had more cash on me and it relieved some of my tension...

The car growled in delight as Ambrose maneuvered it through the twists and turns along a country road at blinding speeds. The location of his 'contact' had been far off in the middle of nowhere high in the mountains. Again, I couldn't shake the feeling of suspicion about all of this. I just wanted to get close enough to Missoula and then get rid of Ambrose.

The car reduced in speed as we drove through a small town. "STOP!" I shouted. The Camaro screeched to a halt in the middle of the road. "What?" Ambrose exclaimed, he was frantic.

"I just saw a bakery and they have a donut sign." I hastily explained, all while unbuckling my seat belt and opening the car door. "_You've got to be kidding me._ Rose!" Ambrose called after me, but I just kept moving. I was on a mission, a tasty and delectable mission at that.

I heard the engine's growl ceased, a swift slam and then foot steps behind me. "It's 6am human time, they're not even open." I heard his voice say as he got closer. I walked up to the bakery and looked through the store's wide windows. Some lights were on and I saw a woman standing in the back with her back facing the windows.

I banged on the door and she snapped around with a frightful look on her face. She was human. "What are you doing?" Ambrose hissed, but I ignored him. The lady slowly walked up to the door she pointed to a sign and said through the glass "We're closed. Come back at eight."

I rolled my eyes, the hell I was waiting another two whole hours. I wanted donuts, and I wanted them _now. _"Please tell me you have donuts already made. I'll pay double the price for them." I shouted so she'd hear.

Her eyes widened, but she unlocked the door and ushered us it. I squealed in excitement. _What the hell's wrong with me? _Since when do I _squeal? _The woman gave me a look like I was insane. But she just didn't understand, donuts were a prerequisite to my meals and if I didn't get any, the devil himself couldn't avoid my wrath.

"I'm sorry to be so intrusive, we just really need a quick breakfast. I appreciate your understanding." For some reason she just smiled, "We don't really get a whole lot of tourist come by, so the town operates on it's own schedule. What can I get you folks?" This woman was seriously becoming my favorite human ever. Well, besides Sydney that is...

Ten minutes later, Ambrose and I were walking out of the bakery with four one-dozen boxes of varying types of donuts. True to my word, I paid double the price, the owner was shocked but greedily took the money, throwing in two free chocolate eclairs and their business card.

As we left they called out saying to come back whenever we wanted. As we walked back to the car, I popped open the lid of one of the boxes I was carrying, it was a dozen chocolate donuts with chocolate chips baked inside and topped off with a chocolate glaze. With one hand, I reached in and grabbed one.

I bit into the warm donut, my eyes rolled back and I moaned in euphoria. Donuts always made the world better, and now I was drowning in them. I was liking this vacation so far.

"I feel like I should be covering my eyes, it looks like I've just walked in on some erotic donut porno", Ambrose said a bit unevenly.

I laughed, "Well then look away, cause we're just getting started", at that moment he bursted in to hysterics, "Hey show the donuts some resect!" I said smirking, and we just laughed harder...

As the car started moving again, I caught a glimpse of something red in the corner of my eye. I turned to get a better look, parked off in a dimly lit alleyway was a Mercedes Benz and it looked like it was fast. Perfect. I told Ambrose we needed to stray away from attracting attention, but we were outside of court now. And that didn't mean _I_ couldn't have a little car fun.

"Ambrose, how good are you at auto theft?" I asked while smiling like a cheshire cat. This was going to be _fun..._

Turns out it was a Mercedes Benz SLK350, and man was this thing _quick. _I became the lead car as we continued my journey. I was apparently having a little too much fun because Ambrose had a difficult time catching up with me. I guess the adrenaline buzz mixed in with my sugar high from polishing off two of the donut boxes made me a _tiny bit hyper._

I slowed down as the car zoomed over a bridge nestled on top of a lake, I had just spotted a gas station and Ambrose had mentioned he would have to fill up soon. I pulled into the station and parked. "I'm glad it was the donuts and not me in the passenger seat, you drive like a lunatic!" Ambrose exclaimed walking up to me.

"Hey they're perfectly fine, well at least the ones I haven't eaten yet..." I grabbed the two empty boxes and tossed them into a nearby trashcan. "_Figures..._" I heard him mutter. "So tell me again why are you ditching the Camaro? I could just tell the guardians it got stolen or something..."

"That does sound like a good plan, except you'll be stranded somewhere, plus they have GPS tracking installed in all their cars. They'd be able to trace the car and subsequently, find me. Sorry, I can't risk that." He just nodded in understanding. "So this is it? We go separate ways from here?" he asked.

"Yup, go fill up, I'll give you the eclairs when you're done". He walked off and I leaned against the door frame. I decided to explore around for awhile to walk-off the sugar rush...

A shiver racked my spine as the wind swirled around my body. Ambrose was still filling up the car, so I walked over to the bridge and looked out at the scenery. The sunrise against the still water of the lake was spectacular.

I could get used to a human schedule. I vowed to be up when the sun was for this little vacation. A life of a guardian meant making sacrifices, one of them being sunlight since it effected Moroi. I didn't want to miss out on anything during this trip, no doubt I would be in huge trouble with Hans when I returned, so I wanted to enjoy my chance of carefree blissfulness while it lasted.

I hadn't checked my cellphone in a few hours so I turned it on. Lissa called A LOT. And there was 12 new voicemail messages. I sighed in exasperation. I didn't really want to hear any of them, but curiosity got the best of me.

The first seven were all Lissa, they ranged in tone, the first few were her bitching me out about the attack in the church. Thankfully she didn't bring _him_ up too much. She was mostly scolding me on being so reckless when I was already in deep shit as it was with the court guardians.

At this point she was in 'mother' mode. The next two made me grimace, she started apologizing about how she overreacted. _Uh, you think so! _I mentally hissed. She asked me if I wanted to go out for dinner and just talk. Later she called saying she was at the restaurant and that I should come.

She was agitated later when I didn't show so she sent a warning that she was coming to my room. I sucked in a breath. This was where she'd find my note.

To say she was frantic was an understatement. She started pleading saying to come back and this was stupid. The next thing startled me, she said to not run away after what Dimitri had said. Explaining that he didn't reserve the satisfaction of me leaving. That I should of stood my ground and stayed.

I was shocked, did she really mean that or was she just saying that for her own selfishness to tell me anything I wanted to hear just to come back? The next message was from Adrian. I felt guilt wash over me, he hadn't done anything and I shouldn't of left without telling him. He was concerned saying things like, he was sorry for fighting with me, where did I go and why didn't I bring him with me where we could have a romantic getaway... etc.

My heart clenched I knew it was stupid, but I felt I wasn't worthy of having him as a boyfriend when my heart was still pining away for another man. A man that didn't love me back anymore... I was a mess.

I waited for the next message, it was from a number I didn't recognize, and once I heard the voice I knew why. It was a male voice. Deep yet soft with a hint of an accent. It was _him. _I couldn't bring myself to even think of his name, if I did, the anger and pain would wake back up. I heard "Roza", gently spoken through the speaker and I flinched.

I closed the phone and tossed it over the bridge. After a few seconds I heard the 'plonk' as it entered the cool deep water below. I didn't want to be bothered anymore. I wanted peace and quite and if I kept my cellphone around, I would be tempted like I just was, to check it and this wouldn't help my healing time.

"Why'd you do that?" Ambrose said beside me, I jumped not realizing he had come up beside me. "I don't want any inside contact. This solves that problem, plus they could track my phone like the car, so I needed to ditch it anyway", I said.

"Rose you're being a bit paranoid, don't you think? I'm inside contact, I'll know where you are" he said. I gave him a glare, "You're not telling anybody anything. Plus once I'm done with the bank, you won't know where I am", I said in a stern voice. Whatever he saw in my eyes must of struck fear in him, because he gulped and just gave a nod.

We walked back to the cars, and I gave him a hug. "Thanks for your help. I truly appreciate it". This caught him off guard, he returned the hug and pulled back, "A thank you from Rose Hathaway. I can die a happy man", he said. We both laughed and I gave him a wink, got in my car, reluctantly tossed him the bag with the eclairs and took off.

Well that's what Ambrose _thought_ I did. I followed him back to court and made sure he entered the gates. I kept a good distance, no one would be able to spot me. I led Ambrose to believe I was going to the bank in Missoula. But that wasn't the case, the bank had a branch out in Indiana.

The trip out there would take awhile but once I got there, I'd have the money to take a plane. Where I'd go to Montana. I wasn't going back to the academy, I was going back to Spokane.

The last place anyone would suspect I'd go. I figured strigoi hunting was a good way to vent my physical frustration. And what better way to hunt strigoi, then the place where they kidnapped me? My mouth twisted into a sadistic smile, vengeance was in order...

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A/N: I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Maybe it's because I'm in the mood for donuts and I can't get any because I'm snowed in, hmm... starts to drool... review!

ps- links for the new car mentioned in this chapter is on my profile!

~Fabulous


	5. Hidden Shadows

A/N: Hey all! Sorry I haven't updated in awhile, I caught the flu and have been sick all week. : ( But I'm starting to feel better. For those of you who read the "preview", I deleted it so I could post this as the official new chapter. I took my time writing this, it's the biggest chap I've written so far. I was listening to the band Paramore when writing this so you might find some of their lyrics hidden in there-especially from the song 'Misguided Ghosts' The beginning of this chapter is Lissa's reaction to finding out Rose is gone. The rest is Rose in the present time. Hope you like it.

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LPOV

I left Dimitri's apartment and went looking for Rose. I couldn't believe how blind I've been. Rose doesn't even deserve my apologies but I had to try. After my family's death, Rose has been the only one there for me. She _is _family. Guardians lay their lives on the line everyday for the moroi they protect and with Rose I felt completely the same way.

I would risk my life for her in a second, I love her like she's my blood sister. I remember a word I heard once. It was when Rose came back from Russia, she had met another spirit user and a shadow kissed dhamphir. She said they mentioned the term 'bondmate'. That's what what we were. I was connected with Rose is such a deeper way than any blood relation could ever hold. Yet, I couldn't feel her emotions or suffer in her pain as she did with me. The bond was one way. I didn't know how she truly felt.

But I could hardly blame my ignorance on spirit. I should of been more supportive with Rose. I've never wanted anything bad to happen to her. Yet I've already done that to her myself. I have failed Rose so badly. I'm no longer someone she can rely on. And the worst part in all of this was that this wasn't the first time I've been completely negligent to her feelings.

All the time spend at the academy I saw her change when we were brought back. She was still her humorous outspoken self, but I watched her transform into an amazing guardian and person. She was always the one protecting me, making sure I was okay, but I never put too much thought into how she was feeling. She was always so confident and carefree. I _thought_ she was happy and having the time of her life.

But the whole time she was hiding a relationship with Dimitri. I gritted my teeth and flinched from the sudden movement. I loosened my grip slightly, my fangs were poking my bottom lip. I was too oblivious to pick up on the changes in Rose. But now as I looked back, it was right there in front of me the entire time, her aura always lit up like a christmas tree when he was around her, she was always so determined to prove herself. She had more motivation in life. But it wasn't just her aura, it was body language and moods too.

She would smile when talking to Dimitri, and she seemed to pick up on being more serious when he was around. I always wrote it off as an 'impressing the mentor' type thing, but it wasn't. She was changing and falling for him. I remember days where she was in a pissy mood but after a practice with Dimitri she was more calm. And then there was Dimitri.

He was always the serious, stone faced guardian, but around Rose, his features would soften, sometimes I would even see him smile or hear him laugh. He was in love with her all along. Around her, he would loosen up and show emotions. And then he was always so worried and serious if anything would happen to Rose. I just thought he was looking out for his student, but I couldn't be more off base.

They were in love and it was right there in front of me flashing brightly like a neon sign. I watched my best friend crumble to rubble when she thought he died. She left me and went on that insane suicide mission to hunt him down and free his soul. At the time I was too astonished by the fact that they had a secret romance that I didn't fully grasp onto how intense their feelings for one another truly was. I brushed it off as just attraction, and was too busy trying to selfishly convince her to stay with me than to notice her intentions or feelings. When she came back I thought Adrian would mend her broken heart, but he couldn't. Even now with their relationship, I could tell from their auras Rose just wasn't into it. Her heart belonged to someone else. And Adrian being a blind idiot, was too stubborn to accept that.

Then I brought Dimitri back and he did nothing but shove her away. Hurting her all over again when he told her he no longer loved her. I wanted to march back up to that damn apartment and make him suffer. I wanted him to feel triple the amount of pain he had caused to Rose. I wanted to kill him, put only after he begged for it. I wanted him to writhe in pure torment.

But I wanted Rose there to witness it. It was the least I could do for her after being the bitch I've been. I walked to my room and tried calling her. It went straight to voicemail. So I left a few messages. I shocked myself with the first few. I kept scolding her for being so reckless. I didn't mean to really leave so many messages and yell at her, but I wanted to be as honest with her as possible. To prove how sincere I was.

I knew we had the bond, but it felt good to get out all that I was thinking. I knew she was hurting but she had to see that what she did was not helping her situation. If she wanted to get a good guardian assignment, instead of a lifetime behind a desk, she had to play nice and not cause attention to herself. I mentally sighed, Rose is not one to sit around and be quiet. But this was her future at stake. I wanted her to be successful and happy. Not disgruntled and miserable doing filing and community service work.

I shook my head, she didn't need to hear this coming from me, so I started apologizing. I know she's really upset but maybe if I tried hard enough, she'd eventually listen to me. I left a few more messages telling her I was sorry and that I wanted to meet up with her for dinner.

When I was finished, I took a quick shower, put on something decent to wear and headed out to the restaurant I told Rose to meet me at...

It had been three hours and the restaurant was about to close. My waiter came up to me and refilled my glass of water, he glanced at me and then to the front door. Trying to give me the hint that my guest wasn't going to show and that the restaurant was closing soon. I didn't order anything, I kept holding out for Rose. But she apparently wasn't going to show. I raked a hand through my hair and let of a loud sigh. I left a tip on the table and stalked out of the restaurant.

The cool air of the night brushed my face as I briskly walked my way towards Rose's room in guest housing. I whipped out my phone and called Rose, and of course, it went straight to voicemail, her voiced chimed through the receiver,

"_Hey sorry I've missed your call, I'm probably out having more fun than your sorry ass right now, but if you miss me that much, leave a message and I might hunt you down"_

I rolled my eyes right before the beep sounded, signaling the start of my message "Rose I've given you enough time alone, I'm coming to your room. Whether you're ready or not", I said angrily.

When I got to her room, I pounded on the door. "ROSE! Open up! You can't avoid me for forever!", I hissed. I gripped the knob expecting it to be locked, but it wasn't. I suddenly stumbled forward, as the door when flying open. "Rose?", I called out. Her room was empty and quiet. The drawers of her dresser had been cleaned out and her closet was messier than usual. Something wasn't right.

I turned around to head out, she obviously wasn't here, so I'll have to continue my search. But as I walked past the door, my shoe scuffed on something crumpled on the floor. I bent down and picked up a folded piece of paper, I smoothed out the wrinkles and my heart stopped beating as the note revealed my name scribbled across it in Rose's handwriting. With trembling fingers, I unfolded the letter and froze in complete shock at the words written on it:

_Liss,_

_I'm going away for awhile, but i'll be back. __ Don't__ try and follow me, cause i'll return as soon as possible. I just need some time alone. Don't worry, i'll be fine. Love You._

_-Rose_

I slowly slipped out of my dazed state as my breathing became uneven, my heart started racing, somehow my legs started to move, guiding me out of her room. My mind was spinning with so many thoughts. _Rose left? _This couldn't be happening. She _can't_ be gone. I was vaguely aware that I was standing outside now. I started searching the area. This is just some joke. _Rose isn't gone, she's just really mad and avoiding me that's all, _I tried reassuring myself. But it wasn't helping. I needed to find her.

I'll go to the cafe that's not too far from here. Rose will be there munching on eclairs and sipping a cup of hot chocolate. She'll be right there, in front of my eyes. But you know what the bizarre thing was? She wasn't there. She wasn't at the gyms, or the running track, or anywhere that sold food, or at Adrian's place. She wasn't _anywhere_.

I started panicking, I called her every few minutes. I left numerous messages on her voicemail. This was just some nightmare I'm having. But it wasn't. I did this to her. She left because of me. I was horrible to her. And then there was _Dimitri_. He had upset her.

I wanted to rip his head off now, but I couldn't because I was frozen where I was. My eye sight was blurred as tears poured out of my eyes. I clutched my chest as my heart pumped wildly. My breathing was labored. I wanted to call out for help, but I couldn't find my voice.

I was so stunned that I didn't notice the lean figure approaching me. "Lissa?" it asked. I blinked back tears to see who it was. My heart did a flip as I recognized who it was.

Christian. Guilty washed over me. We weren't together anymore. Just like Rose, I had ruined his life too. I couldn't handle this anymore, I was the cause of so much suffering. I had to get away from him before I could hurt him even more.

But he took one look at my tear stained face and in the span of a blink I was crushed to his chest. I whimpered, I didn't deserve his comfort, but it felt so right wrapped up in his arms. "Lissa, what's wrong? What happened?", his voice asked strangled.

I don't know how, but I managed to find my voice, "S-she's g-gone C-Christian", I stuttered. "Who?" he asked pained.

"Rose!", I cried. "It's a-all m-my f-fault!", I stammered out. One of his hands stroked my hair soothingly as he said, "Don't worry, we'll find her." Rose was a highly skilled guardian. If she wanted to, she could disappear without a trace. I doubt we could find her even if we wanted. But she didn't want to be found. Her note said she wanted some space. I only hoped Christian was right. Because sooner or later I would go looking for her. I needed to find her. I had to know if she was okay and tell her I was sorry.

RPOV

I stood at the edge of the cliff looking out at the rolling hills of Montana. If I peered my eyes closely, I could see houses, a few parks and a couple shopping centers all tucked away in a small city. The houses and cars from this height looked more like small toy models than the real things that they were.

And with the setting sun spilling rays of golden hues that cast on every surface, it made everything look picturesque-as if it were a painting or post card. I let out a sigh, if only I were like the normal lives down below, where seeing a beautiful sunset over a mountainous area would lull them into a blissful trance and after the setting had finished they would head back to their homes and enjoy a good meal and have a restful sleep.

Unfortunately, _I_ _wasn't_ one of those people. The sunset to me meant something entirely different, it was the calm before the storm, a moment of peace, before death and destruction would consume the night.

"You don't look so good," Kate said beside me. I tried forcing a smile but the end result turned out to be a grim smirk. "I'm fine, just harnessing my chi", I quietly said. She nodded, "Hmm, calling up the inner guardian warrior huh? I used to take yoga, the meditation always helped me with my element skills", I chuckled, "What'd you specialize in?"

"Water, you should of seen me, I was pretty good, I choked an ex-boyfriend once with his own saliva". I gave her a quizzical look, maybe it was a good thing she was a ghost, this chick was crazy when she was alive. She caught on quickly and hurriedly said, "Hey now wait a minute. He deserved it. He cheated on me with my roommate _and_ slept with his cousin too! He was a chauvinistic bastard!"

I rolled my eyes, "Then why'd you date him in the first place?" She grimaced as she whispered, "He wasn't always like that..." I wished I could comfort her but I couldn't. She was energy. I was flesh, blood and bone. I frowned remembering how I'd just met her...

_After I got off the plane I went straight to the location of the house that me and my friends had been taken to when kidnapped by strigoi.__ The last time I was here, I had been a shocked and scared novice. _

_The house looked abandoned, but I walked up to it anyway. And as the closer I got, the more nothing happened. No sensation of nausea. I couldn't really understand the relief I felt at that fact. _

_It's funny how guardians always say you never forget your first kills, but for me, I wish the memory would just fade away. It wasn't something I was proud of or wanted to boast about or even remember for that matter. It was the moment when my carefree innocence dissolved away._

_I could still feel the fear when I thought this was where I'd die-even now it still haunted me. I flexed my fingers and took a deep breath. But the horrible memories of what happened here flooded my mind relentlessly. Frustrated, I knocked down the front door and entered, still no nausea._

_I shuddered as I walked past the place where my friend Mason had died. Even if his spirit had moved on, I still ached over the loss. He was a good friend, and he died because of me...I shook my head, strigoi could still be lurking around, I needed to stay focused..._

_After an hour, I. Found. Nothing. I was disappointed, and also grateful at the same time. Disappointed because I didn't have any strigoi to get rid of but grateful because apparently they had been spooked away. _

_I assumed, after the little 'invasion' the academy guardians had conducted when they rescued my group, any remaining survivors would have left. I was happy strigoi weren't continuing their 'torture' escapades here anymore. But as I thought of all they did to us and obviously others before, anger coursed through me. The strigoi were gone, but they could always come back. I swiftly turned around and left the house._

_I stalked over to the truck I had recently stolen and pulled out a gallon tank of gasoline and book of matches. "They can't come back if this place is in ashes'", a wicked voice snickered in my head... _

_I was quick with my new task, the hellhole turned out to be pretty flammable all on it's own. I was expecting to feel better about this action, but I was nowhere near satisfied. I thought by setting this place on fire, I could burn the memories away too. But it didn't. They were permanently etched in my mind forever. Always hiding away until they felt the need to remind me that they were__ an imperishable virus eagerly waiting to torture me with it's malice._

_Shaking the unease off my mind, I jumped into the truck and sped away, the last thing I needed now was to be taken into the custody of human police for arson. _

_As I watched the flames lick the house to shreds through the rear view mirror, I contemplated where I'd go next. As I turned onto the main road I caught sight of a billboard advertising cavern tours. "That's it!"__I thought. I would visit the caves where I went on a rescue mission with the academy once. I cringed remembering the attack on the school. So many innocent people had lost their lives. _

_I laughed with no enthusiasm, it seems I keep visiting all the places that kept all my worst memories and fears. It was like I was drawn to them, forcing me to relive all my darkest hours. I took an unsteady breath remembering the most terrible thing that happened there. Dimitri. Just thinking his name was a painful jab at my heart. But maybe I could find peace when I got to the caves. The place where our relationship had been crumbled and crushed. _

_Our relationship had never been easy, but once upon a time we were confident that it could work. But it had all changed when he was taken down, bitten and forced against his will into a monster. _

_By going to the place where his love and soul had been so violently ripped away from me, perhaps I could finally get closure returning to where all our current problems had started..._

_As I stepped out of the truck I gripped the holster around my leg to make sure it was secure, the last thing I needed was to reach for my extra stake only to find it had fallen out. I stood up straight and cautiously walked up to the cave's entrance. It was the early evening human time, so I took advantage of the light to survey the area. _

_I noticed that the jagged rocks above the cave led to a cliff over looking the the valley below. Just like the location of Ambrose's 'contact' the drive up here was in the high altitudes and deserted. A perfect place for a hideout. _

_I decided to walk around to the other side of the cavern in the hopes of maybe getting a nausea feel for any strigoi that might be inside. _

_As I started walking, taking in all of my surroundings, I lurched to a stop as a translucent form appeared right in front of me, "What the f-, AHH!" I suddenly crouched down to the ground in pure agony, my head was roaring with hot searing pain. _

_And then there was the screaming. Loud, ear spitting howls of terror. I shut my eyes trying to grasp onto some shred of stability throughout this chaos. I tried to calm my ragged breath and rapid pulse. 'Get a hold of yourself Hathaway', I chanted to myself._

_I pulled my knees up to my chest and took deep breaths. 'I can get through this'. This helped ease the pain slightly. "Oh my god, Oh my god!" I heard a voice say and then I heard the faint sounds of hysteric crying? I slowly opened my eyes and sat up, the fire was still thrashing wildly in my head but I managed._

_I looked up to see many translucent forms surrounding me, some just stared, others flickered, some seemed like they were coming towards me. I was seeing ghosts, but I wondered how. I thought I blocked them out. I quickly stood up. As I got up I noticed long dark shadows surrounding me. I looked down at my arms, it seemed as if they were coming from me._

_I lifted up one of my hands and gasped to see a shadow-like substance formed into a clouded ball in my palm, I clenched my fist and released. It was still there. I turned my hand over and jumped, the shadow cloud divided and started to extend beyond my finger tips, it was like they were leaking waves of grey smoke. What the hell? _

_As I performed the gesture, the ghosts seemed to back away. I was still confused as to how I was even seeing them. I thought I had my mental barriers up. I then focused on my barriers, I could feel them, but they were weak. And then I felt something else. It was identical to my barriers, but it contained considerably more energy- it was something stronger._

_I extended my concentration on it, this foreign energy reminded me of the grey smoke I'd just seen escape from my fingers. I experimented by pulling on it and covering the barriers with it. As soon as they touched, my barriers hummed back up to full strength. And the pain along with the shadows and grey smoke dissolved away. Also, the ghosts one by one started fading away, until there was nothing in the woodsy, rocky area but me and one lone ghost. _

_It was so strange, I hadn't noticed before, but this ghost appeared to be the least translucent from the original bunch. As I focused my attention on it, I picked back up on the crying noise I had heard before. My mouth gaped open as I figured out I was staring directly at the source. _

_A few feet before me hovered a girl around my age. From what I could tell she was Moroi. She wore jeans that were wrinkled and ripped, but not in a fashionable way. A white t-shirt with stains and worn dirty sneakers. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a messy bun. And all across her neck were bite marks. They were gruesome, and blood was smeared all over her skin. I quickly recognized the stains on her shirt as blood. _

_I sucked in a breath as realization hit me. I jogged up to her, "Hey are you okay?" I said, I stupidly lifted my hand to grip her shoulder but my hand just went right through her. I shivered as cold chills ran through my spine. She recoiled from the action and looked straight at me "You...can... see... me...?" she said in between hiccups. I was shocked, I heard her crystal clear. The only ghost I'd ever spoken to was Mason, and verbal communication had been nonexistent. "What the hell is going on?" I didn't mean to speak it out loud, but it was already too late. _

_She gave me an angry glare, she snapped out of whatever break down she was having as she shouted at me, "WHAT DO YOU THINK! I'M DEAD!'' _

_And like the snap of a finger she flickered away. I was momentarily dazed before my whole body started to tremble. What just happened? _

_I searched around the area to make sure I was truly alone before I perched on a nearby rock as my breathing became ragged. I clasped my shaking hands together as my heart pumped wildly in my chest causing sharp little staccato jabs of pain. Never before have I ever had a panic attack or 'freak out'. But this was all just too much. _

_I couldn't handle this stress. I kept mentally begging to wake up. Because this has to be some kind of horrible nightmare. Soon someone's going to pinch me and I'll wake up in Dimitri's arms in the cabin at the academy. Everything will be carefree and blissful. The only thing I'll have to worry about is what dress I'm going to wear to the party Lissa wants to go to on the weekend and whether I can seduce Dimitri into canceling our morning practice._

_But that was the true dream here, it wasn't my sick, twisted reality. It was just a warm hazy wish that would never come true. Cold waves of loneliness and betrayal slithered around me. Even spending time away from my problems couldn't erase the damage it had caused. And now on top of all of that, I was hallucinating, see ghosts and shadows. I was going insane. And there was nothing I could do to stop the inevitable. _

"_Hey can I talk to you?", a feminine voiced asked, I involuntarily jerked my body off the rock and onto the hard ground, "Fuck!" I swore aloud. Since when am I so jumpy? But then again, since when do I panic? Oh crap, I thought, I'm arguing with myself now too? Before I could muse any further my eye caught onto something on my far left. I turned my head and looked up to see the ghost girl again, "Sorry" she said, "Didn't mean to spook you". _

_Maybe I was hallucinating again or maybe I really was seeing a ghost in front of me, but one fact remained echoing in my head. This wasn't me. I wasn't handling this situation right. This wasn't the confident, quick-witted Rose Hathaway I knew I was. I forcibly calmed my breathing as I stood up and shook my head._

"_Um, don't worry about it. I have questions to ask you too now that you mentioned it." She simply nodded her head._

"_Okay, so how can you see me? You're a dhampir, and not dead. But I don't know, I'm drawn to you? Why?" her words came out rapidly like she was afraid she wouldn't have enough time to say it all._

_I smiled encouragingly to her as I said, "Calm down, let's take this slow. I'm Rose and you are?" _

"_Kate. Kate __Olendzki", she beamed despite our unusual meeting. Where have I heard that name? It was familiar...Olendzki...and then I remembered._

"_Wait, are you related to a Dr. Olendzki? That works at the St. Vladimir's Academy?", I asked hurriedly._

"_Yep. She's my mom..." she trailed off lost in thought. The small glint of enthusiasm leaving her face. I was shocked to say the least. _

"_You're her daughter? I didn't even know she had a kid", I rambled on to fill the silence._

_Kate looked up at me with a grim look plastered on her face, "I used to attended a human university far away from here. Not very many people know about me because I'm always traveling or at school. I usually just send her emails to keep up. And then I was on break so I planned a surprise visit but never made it to the academy..."_

_My heart went out to her. She was so young and innocent, and her life had just been ripped away from her. "I know who you are though. You're a legend, not to mention mom's number one patient", her voice held a slight tinge of hope. Maybe if I kept talking to her, I could erase the memory of her tragedy. _

"_Oh, so I see my badass rep hasn't gone unnoticed", I said confidently putting my hands on my hips. This made her smile and I could feel my own personal thoughts of despair fade. It felt nice to talk to someone new, even if they were a ghost. _

"_You're being too modest Hathaway. A young novice with molnija marks and a battlestar mark all before graduation? You're as badass as they get!", she said, her voice dripping with playful sarcasm. We both laughed in synchronization. I only just met her but I liked her already. _

"_Okay back to business, I'm shadow kissed" she gave me a confused look. "It means I died once and was brought back, and I see you because I'm still tied to the world of the dead."_

"_Huh?" she said. Okay she was starting to loose cool points._

"_Look I don't really have a full understanding of it myself, but there's another Moroi element called 'spirit'. Someone who possesses the element can heal wounds, walk dreams and read auras amongst other things. They also have super compulsion. My friend Lissa's a spirit user and when I was young I died in a car crash. The ability of her spirit element brought me back to life. I could go on all day about this, but just roll with it. How come I keep seeing you while blocking out the others, and I can talk to you. The other ghosts can't even utter a whisper." _

"_Oh yeah, they don't like you." she said as she glared at something behind me. I turned around and saw nothing. Shaking the tension, she continued on, "I don't know about this 'spirit' element you mentioned but it does kind of seem plausible. As for me, they" ,she pointed behind me, "said I just died so my soul is still lingering near my body. I haven't fully crossed over to the world of the dead. I'm like in an in-between stage because there's still a chance I could be brought back. Maybe that's why you can't block me out. I'm not completely dead yet."_

_This was just too weird. "Just died? where, what happened?"_

_She turned and pointed to the caves, "There, strigoi..." she spat the last word. _

_The rage I had been hiding away suddenly engulfed my body. "How many and are there any survivors?" I said in between gritted teeth. _

"_Ah about eight and excluding me, twelve." I nodded my head. "Why do you want to know?" she asked. Honestly? She couldn't put it together? I mentally sighed._

"_Because I'm going to save them and kill your murderers..." I said in a cold, flat tone. _

"_You might be able to s-save me? I m-might l-live?" she asked now trembling. I didn't know much about paramedics, or medicine in general, but I was pretty sure she wasn't going to make it, but I forced my lips up into a grin as I said, "I'm sure as hell going to try."_

It's been one hour since I promised those words to Kate. Since then I've surveyed the outside area of the cavern thoroughly taking note of every uneven surface and noting the places where I could hold an advantage.

Kate told me there was a hidden exit in the caves two quarters of a mile above ground at the top of the cliff. After an initial scan of everything she told me that's where the strigoi would be leaving from when the sun went down.

The plan was to take down all eight strigoi and fit all thirteen captives in the back of my truck where I would take them to St. Vladimir's. They'd be safe in the protection of the wards and I could then rush Kate's body to the infirmary where they could possibly revive her. I silently prayed Kate was right about still having a fighting chance because the other outcome was going to be hard to handle. Either way, Doc Olendzki was in for one hell of a mother daughter reunion.

I was horrified with the story of how she came to be in this predicament. The university she was attending had just finished up with the spring semester. I silently laughed to myself when she told me she was pre-med. I guess the saying 'the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree' was true. She and a few of her friends planned an end of the year roadtrip. They traveled from New York to Washington D.C. attending a few concerts and doing some sightseeing. Afterwards they visited Chicago and they were on their way to Seattle, Washington when she decided to pay a surprise visit to her mom.

She and her friends had rented out a charter bus for this epic adventure, so they had stopped at a camping site in Montana to get some rest before Kate went to go see her mom the next day. But they never even made it out of the camp grounds the next morning because a pack of strigoi had attacked them that night. And of course because she was living out in the human world and not a royal, she didn't have any guardians with her. Her group was dragged off to the caverns where the strigoi fed from them. She said their leader was a tall blonde that seemed to pay extra attention to her. I shuddered from the story, Kate had died being used as a bloodwhore. If it wasn't for the fact I was consumed in a violent rage, I would have started crying over her horrific end. But I had to stay strong and not let my emotions control me, everything she was telling me reminded me so much of the strigoi named Nathan and the time I spend when I was captured by strigoi Dimitri. I didn't need my past to effect my performance in this fight.

She had been traveling with mostly humans but I was shocked to find she had a few dhampir friends with her too. Kate said they had attended an academy with her in Vermont where she lived with her dad. They all graduated but never accepted an assignment for a charge. They wanted to live "off the grid" so to speak and experience a normal human life -filled with attending college, dating cute frat boys, going to crazy toga parties, and working on getting degrees and starting a profession in the human world.

I had never heard of such a thing. Sure, I had met some unpromised dhampirs back in Russia, and of course there was the whole 'blood whore' thing. Not to mention Ambrose and his 'day spa' career. But I never even considered we had another option to choose. A life of your own where the old 'they come first' guardian mantra was chucked out the window.

I distantly remember hearing something once of two guardians running off together, getting married and living in the human world. But these people Kate knew were _my_ age and in the current present time. It made me start to wonder, that maybe the world I grew up in and still live in was just a cult driven society run by a dictatorship. It boggled my mind with the thought of having a life of freedom where _I_ got to choose what I wanted to do and live a long life without worrying if tomorrow's next strigoi attack would be my last.

But as the idea wrapped around my head, I couldn't help but dismiss it. I loved Lissa to no end and I could hardly turn my back on the life I've worked so hard to achieve. I cleared my throat to steady my mind from my crazy thoughts. I _chose_ this life because I wanted to protect and save lives and that's exactly what I'm going to do now.

"They're getting ready to leave", Kate whispered beside me. I smiled, "Thank you for all your help, I'm going to try my best to rescue everyone, but Kate", I locked gazes with her, "You have to prepare yourself with the fact that I might not get you to the infirmary in time." She nodded her head and I saw thin tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Good Luck", she faintly whispered as she flickered away leaving me alone to battle the undead demons who had twisted her innocent soul into a misguided ghost.

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A/N: I'll try updating again soon. But in the mean time, what do you think? Review and let me know.

~Fabulous


	6. Bittersweet Rescue  PART 1

A/N: Hey guys! So I'm actually updating on time this week *yay me* This chapter has a lot going on, so I decided to break it up into two parts. The foreign language in bold is french. I don't speak french, so I'm only going off of what google translate told me, so if I misspelled or miss worded something and one of you guys knows french, feel free to correct me. The translations are listed below. Enjoy!

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**Woman in the woods**

I stood waiting in the bushes where she could not see or detect me. This is how it had been for quiet some time. Hiding from but always watching her.

I have been following the Hathaway girl for awhile now. _Waiting_ for the perfect moment to set my plan into action. The cavern above me reeked of uncoordinated chaos. It had me on edge, unsure if the trap would work.

My fangs throbbed from the delicious scent of blood and fear, it was so potent that even I was salivating where I stood a half mile below the caves. I _ached _with longing to join the others up there and feed until I couldn't see straight, but I had to stay unnoticed. It was too soon for her to know of my presence.

My muscles tensed with anticipation as I heard the men fight and lure her closer to the cliff's edge. I could feel my limps spasm against my frozen stance as each suspenseful second ticked by.

And then the moment I had been waiting for finally occurred. With a forceful blow to the stomach and then quickly joined by one to the chest, she stumbled backwards and fell over the edge. I savored the intoxicating scent of her fear as gravity impelled her body downward to the jagged rocks below. I adjusted my hearing, readying myself for the delightful sound of her bones crushing against the hard surfaces of the rocky base.

But it did not come. I glanced up to see she had gripped onto a loose tree root that stuck out of the cliff's side. I clenched my fists in fury. _What is it going to take to kill this filthy whore!_ I was about to emerge from my post and finish her off myself, when I noticed she had already climbed back up the rock wall. I saw something silver fall out of her pocket and crash to the ground with a resonant clinking sound. _Her stake. _

Maybe there was still a way to end her. I could hear the muffled grunts from the fight above me as it continued, but I paid no attention to it. I quickly pulled out my leather gloves and shrugged them onto my cool hands as I walked over to the silver dagger. I kept to the shadows making sure no one would notice me. I crouched down and grasped the silver object in both my hands.

I smiled naughtily as my skin didn't burn due to my leather barrier. Opening my bag, I dropped the stake inside and rushed over to my waiting vehicle. I revved the engine and raced away with a sinister grin permanently etched on my face. I was too consumed with my new scheme of revenge that I barely heard the gurgling howls of torment echoing over the valley...

**One hour earlier...**

**RPOV**

I hid off to the side of the exit where I was out of sight. I felt my rolling waves of nausea increase as two male strigoi emerged from the cave. They were scanning the area for any threats like any trained guardian would do, I mental cursed. They were dhampirs before they were turned. This wasn't going to be an easy fight. I silently wished the others weren't guardians before they were turned.

I gripped the stake in my left hand and threw it towards the one furthest away. The silver spike collided with his chest and he immediately dropped to the ground. I leapt behind the other and dug my second stake into it's flesh over the heart. It wasn't pushed all the way down so it only stunned the strigoi.

I clamped a hand over his mouth as I whispered maliciously in his ear, "Tell them the area's clear". He struggled against my hold, but he was semi-paralyzed from the stake and didn't have no better strength than a human.

I gripped the stake tighter as I dragged it down and broke a rib, I clamped my hand more firm as he wailed in agony. In a more menacing tone I hissed, "You're not making this easy for yourself. You can have a quick death if you do as I say. If you don't..." I dragged the stake along the burning flesh until it was just above the heart, I dug in deeper, but still didn't pierce the heart.

"I'll make you suffer for a long time." I icily snickered before I said, "And I'm being gentle right now. So what's it going to be? Are you going to do as I say?" I asked while driving the stake further down, it lightly tapped the heart.

He screamed again, but nodded his head. "Good, now tell them it's clear", I said while removing my hand. "**Abandonner! Il ya un gardien ici!**" he shouted. _Shit. _Than didn't sound good. I pushed the stake all the way down into the heart. I released my hold and the body slumped to the ground.

I darted over to the first strigoi where he lay stunned, I hovered my foot over the stake's hilt and stomped down. The red rings of his eyes changed to blue as his facial features went slack. I pulled the stake out of his chest and whirled my body around facing the cave exit.

In the blink of an eye, I was surrounded by three tall strigoi. Judging from their lean frames and height, they used to be moroi. I rubbed the hilts of both my stakes with my thumbs as I took on a defensive stance.

"Well, well, well what do we have here?" one of them asked, as the trio began to circle me. I kept a hard stance as I stared them down and growled.

This only made them laugh, "Ooo, a fiesty one. _And _pretty." the second one laughed in a chilling tone.

"**Je parie qu'elle feisty dans toutes sortes de façons ..." **the third said while gazing at me in a way that made me feel violated. His lips pulled up in a wicked smile with his fangs bulging out, enjoying my discomfort.

I cleared my face of all emotion. I had no idea what he just said, but I was not going to let that distract me.

The first one made a sniffing gesture. And raked his eyes up my body before saying, "Mmm, and propably tasty. What's your name _**belle**_? I need a new bloodwhore, I ate my last one." I think he meant for his voice to be seductive, but as a strigoi it came out sounding more possessive. I shook my head, I felt repulsed by each word he spoke.

This must of been the one Kate warned me about as the leader. He had blonde hair.

My eyes turned to slits remembering the bloody bite marks that were all over her neck. The rage I had kept tampered down roared to life, and it held the same sensations from the last time. Pure hatred, and just like with Dimitri, it had it's target.

I laughted as I started rounding them, "The only thing you're going to _taste_ is your own blood when I'm done with you" I hissed. This only made them laugh more. I smiled as I made the first move. I went for a tough blow to the blonde but he saw it coming and dodged. _Good_, I thought, first move and you're already falling for the trap. His hands went out for my neck just as one of the others came up behind me and tried to grab my waist. But I was quicker.

I jumped up in the air and shot out my legs and kicked both of their chests. The force behind the blow sent them stumbling back. As soon as I landed I shot out my right leg causing one of them to stumble forward while I threw a stake into the chest of the third one approaching.

With the amount of force I put into it, the stake struck the heart and the body when limp and fell to the ground.

I suddenly recieved a forceful kick to my stomach. I faultered a bit, but kept my balance right as I deflected another blow, this time to the head.

In one swift movement, my arms were pinned behind my back, as the strigoi who had stumbled came charging at me. I immediately swiveled my body where he collided with the other strigoi and they both fell down while I broke free.

They obviously didn't have good fighting skills. I took the offense, striking out blows to the both of them at blinding speeds. I caught one off guard and quickly plunged my stake into his undead heart. I rammed my body against the other, where we both fell to the ground.

I restrained him but he was pretty strong, he managed to free one arm and punched my jaw. My head knocked back from the force.

In a flash, I took my stake and grabbed his free hand and drove the stake right through the hand and pinned it into the ground like a nail in wood.

He howled in pain as I spat blood out of my mouth. "You shouldn't of done that" I scolded in an ice cold voice. I abruptly gripped the stake and raked it down his arm all the way to the crook of his neck. A ferocious growl erupted from his body as we grappled for dominace, but I eventually got an iron grip on him. I lowered my lips to his ear as I hissed, "What's wrong, you don't like a little pain? Cause I think it feels _good_" I said as I dugg the stake further into his neck as he screamed in agony.

I gave a shrilling laugh as I placed a finger over his lips, "Shhh..." I purred. "It's okay, I'm only giving you what you deserve",I then glided the stake down to his chest and stabbed his blackened heart, the strugging ceased as he went still. I pulled out the stake and went to one of the other bodies and pulled my other stake out. And with both of them safely secured in my hands, I ran into the caves to go after the last three.

But you know what was funny? During my first five kills, the last three strigoi had taken the opportunity to flee while I was a busy. I watched three stalky figures decend down the cave's steep decline to the trees below.

They were hauling two limp bodies each over one of their shoulders. I quinted my eyes and mentally gasped, their captives' chests were still very slowly rising and falling. They must of passed out from the blood loss seeing as there was bite marks on their necks. There was no way, I was going to let them be dragged off to somewhere else and die.

At a blinding speed, I leapt down to where they were. My vision was turned red as I emerged from the shadow of a large tree in front of them. I kicked the strigoi closest to me in the knees. He tripped dropping the bodies, obviously caught off guard.

Forgetting the bodies, he sprung straight up and charged towards me, I smirked. He must of been human before he was 'awakened' because no trained guardian would have made that stupid move. With lightning speed my stake ramped into his chest and his body went slack and fell to the ground.

However the second and third strigoi noticed my attack and had already discarded their 'loads' and were crouched into defensive stances. Without hesitation I lunged forward trying to plunge my stake into the heart of one of them, but at the last second, the body jerked away and I only managed to grate the stake's tip across it's chest, tearing the thin material of it's shirt.

Without even realizing how it happened, I found myself sprawled across the leafy ground. I sucked in a quick breath from the wind being knocked out of me as I winced. Sharp tiny rocks that were scattered on the ground were digging painfully into my back. A pair of cold, pale hands reached out for my neck, but just before they made contact, I rolled my body out of the way.

With more strength than I've ever used, I rocked my body back and with as much momentum as I could muster up, I rocked forward and jumped onto the balls of my feet. Once I was standing erect, I barely dodged a sharp blow to my ribs. I countered the move with a forceful blow of my own. This caused one of them to stumbled back just as the other strigoi advanced towards me. In the fraction of seconds, I sent a string of punches to it's head at blinding speeds, and with one more final blow, they were dazed enough to where I had an opening for their chest, I plunged my stake in and the body went slack. I then turned my attention to the one silently circling me.

The next few minutes were filled with endless motions of dodging and a few kicks and punches on each end, but neither one of us could find an opening on the other. Frustration flared my mind. I had had enough with the stalling. It was time to take action. I went in for a hit to the arm, put she deflected it, I faked left and caught her off guard as I swiftly turned to the right and rammed my stake into her chest. A look of shock glazed over her face before it went blank. I mentally clapped in applaud, as I realized that I'd just taken down eight strigoi in the span of thirty minutes. Not that I was timing it or anything, but still that was pretty badass. I quickly brushed the triumph aside, I still had to get the survivors out of here.

Not wasting anytime, I checked the pulse of the six hostages scattered across the ground, some of them seemed to be coming around, but they were still heavily drugged from the bite's endorphins. Assessing that they were okay, I sprinted back up the steep hill to the cave exit to look for the remaining seven. It took me a few minutes to get up there and I was breathing hard when I finally made it to the top off the cliff. I distantly wondered how the hell I'd gotten down to the bottom so fast earlier. I cleared the thought away though, I had more pressing issues to worry about.

I entered the caves, it was almost pitch black inside, but with some of the moonlight starting to seep through and my heightened eyesight, I managed. At first, I couldn't find any bodies, but as the deeper I went into the cavern, I eventually found the group of hostages clustered together in a corner against a tall wall.

I ran up to them, a few that were conscience, weakly shrieked as I approached them, no doubt freaking out thinking I was another strigoi. I knew they could only make out the silhouette of my body in the dimly lit area, but I lifted my hands up in a non-threating motion, as I said, "Don't worry, I'm here to help you. I'm getting you guys out of here, can any of you move?" I asked. They only trembled in response but I think one of them tried to nod their head. I repressed the urge to groan, it was going to be a bitch carrying them all out of here. "Which one of you is Kate?" I asked. A young girl who looked to be no older than sixteen, stroked the hair of someone's head that lay against her lap. The hair was blonde, I walked up to the body and crouched down, the girl shrieked and weakly wrapped her arms around the limp body to shield her. I tried my best to keep my face soft and encouraging as I said, "It's okay. I won't hurt her, I just need to check her pulse."

"S-she's been out of it longer than any of us. I c-can barely feel her pulse and h-her heart beat's very s-slow. She wasn't breathing earlier so I started giving her CPR, but I'm t-too tired now" the girl stuttered. I admired her bravery, she reminded me of Mia somehow.

Wait a second, I thought, how many people are here? I thought I counted up only five. That means there's two missing. And just as I thought those words, I felt a stone cold hard body ram itself against my side and knocked me against the rock wall.

I heard the sickening crack as one of my ribs snapped just before I felt the shooting pain. I groaned as I winced from the impact, but I quickly swiveled my body to approach the intruder who attacked me. My eyes were met with two sets of bright red ringed eyes. I tried to keep the look of shock off my face but, I could still feel my eyes widen.

Two strigoi men stood infront of me, from the looks of their stalky built, they used to be dhampirs. But the thing that had shaken me up wasn't the fact that their eyes were so brightly ringed in red, it was the faintly bruised teeth impression that doned across their necks. These two had just been turned, and that meant only one thing. They were twice as strong as the last eight strigoi I'd just killed. If I didn't stay on top of my game, they could easily take me down.

I surveyed the cave room, the walls were close together leaving me with a tight space to manuver in. And the ground was on a steep incline leading to the exit. My best chances of winning this fight was to lure them outside. None of them had charged at me again yet, so I took that as my cue to run. I took off in long strides as my legs hauled me towards the cave exit, but just before I made it all the way out, a cool arm grabbed my left leg, jerking me backwards as I fell to the ground.

I flipped myself onto my back as the arm that had taken me down, started dragging me back into the cave room. But I wasn't going to let that happen. Pulling out my stake from it's holster, I crunched my torso forward and grated the stake over the arm. The grip on my leg loosened as the strigoi howled in pain.

I sent a forceful kick to his back and freed myself. I scrambled to my feet and darted outside. I pulled my first stake out of my pocket as I turned around facing the dark exit.

In a flash, the two men were outside of the cave and came charging at me with full speed...

Kick, punch, dodge, punch, jab... those were the only motions my mind was concentrating on in this moment as they lunged at me relentlessly at insane speeds. I could barely keep up with their fast blows, as I kept backing away from them trying to keep a fair distance away. But they were just too quick, I didn't notice I stood only a foot away from the cliff's edge until it was too late.

With a forceful blow to my stomach and then one quickly joined to the chest, I stumbled backwards and fell over the edge. But before I completely fell, I managed to plunge one of my stakes into the heart of one of my attackers.

My hair whipped around my face as I free fell down the cliff's side. You know that moment where your life flashes before your eyes? Well I kind of had a similar feeling of that right now. Memories of every stolen kiss I had with Dimitri and every happy moment I had with Lissa coursed through me like a homemade video.

I felt a knot form in the pit of my stomach as I realized I still truly loved the both of them, and I was never going to see them again...

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**FRENCH **TRANSLATIONS:

**"Abandonner! Il ya un gardien ici!"**

-Abort! There's a guardian outhere!

"**Je parie qu'elle feisty dans toutes sortes de façons ..."**

-I bet she's feisty in all sorts of ways...

_**belle **_-beautiful

A/N: I've had this idea about throwing in a mystery character POV. I think it gives the story a mysterious vibe. Plus I'm curious to see if you guys can figure out who it is, but don't worry all will be revealed in time. Review!

~Fabulous


	7. Bittersweet Rescue PART 2

A/N: Woah! Over 50 reviews and counting-and I'm just getting started with this story! I just wanted to send out my humble appreciation to all the reviews, story alerts, favorites, etc. Your opinions/support is what drives and inspires me to write this story. So I just wanted to send out a huge thanks to you all : ) And now with that out of my system, on with the story...

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_With a forceful blow to my stomach and then one quickly joined to the chest, I stumbled backwards and fell over the edge. But before I completely fell, I managed to plunge one of my stakes into the heart of one of my attackers._

_My hair whipped around my face as I free fell down the cliff's side. You know that moment where your life flashes before your eyes? Well I kind of had a similar feeling of that right now. Memories of every stolen kiss I had with Dimitri and every happy moment I had with Lissa coursed through me like a homemade video._

_I felt a knot form in the pit of my stomach as I realized I still truly loved the both of them, and I was never going to see them again..._

I could feel the pain I kept locked away start to stir from it's hiding place as my eyes started to sting. But before I could even shed a single tear, one of my arms shot out towards the jagged wall and grabbed onto a loose tree root. Before I could even understand what was happening, my body climbed back up the cliff at an unnatural speed.

My hands searched my pockets, I couldn't find my stake. It must of fallen out when I fell. I groaned aloud realizing I had to take down this last strigoi without a stake. I didn't have much time to think it through seeing as the last strigoi noticed me and stared at my approaching figure in bewilderment. In a flash, I stood before him and unexpectedly grabbed a hold of his arm and with a swift twist, snapped it in half.

He howled in pain as I staggered back._ How the hell did I just do that?_ Before I could continue my baffled thoughts, I barely dodged a hit to my head.

"_You just won't stop will you_?", he muttered before he sent a roundhouse kick to my injured rib. Well, he _tried _to kick me, but I was faster than him.

I deflected the blow and in the blink of an eye my arms were firmly wrapped around his neck, "_Impossible. She said you'd never survive the fall, she promised." _he whispered to himself, before I snapped his neck. I paid no attention to his words, they were most likely his last feeble attempt to distract me. I disengaged my hold and the body dropped to the ground. This would only buy me some time before he would heal and regain control of his limbs. I scanned the area looking for the strigoi I stabbed before I fell. And far off a yard away from me, the body lay half sagged over the cliff's edge. I sprinted over to the body and flipped it over, I pulled out the stake and rushed back to the other strigoi body.

His pupils were dilated but his hands were starting to flex and regain strength, in one swift movement the stake collided with his heart and the muscle spasms ceased as his eyes changed from red back to a light brown. I pulled the stake out but immediately plunged it back in and struck the heart again, and again and again, again...

I found a good rhythm thrusting the stake into his chest repeatedly. With each puncture, my movements became faster and stronger. Blood was seeping out of the wounds and formed a thick puddle around the body, but I just kept going.

My entire mind was glazed over in an unhinged pathological bloodlust. These red eyed fiends were the cause to every wrong in the world. _My world._ My life was fine until they came and ruined it all. They stole my innocense, killed my friends and took away the love of my life. They needed to die in the most painful way possible. I needed to make sure of it. So I just kept striking out at the strigoi corpse. I was going to tear and pummel it into an oblivious.

"Rose! STOP! He's dead, they're all dead. You have to get us out of here!" a voice said to me. But I ignored it. These strigoi had hell to pay and I wasn't finished with them. _I need a bigger stake_ I thought. This one wasn't inflicting enough damage._ And I need more strigoi..._ I mused. I couldn't torture these ones, they weren't fun anymore. I _need_ to go find more, I will hunt down all of them until there is no more. _I have to kill them ALL._

And no, _no, _NO quick death would suffice. Hm, yes they need to suffer so _so_ SO much longer before I pitied them with the sweet empty darkness death offers. I would tear them apart limb for limb _slowly, _and then watch their limbless bodies scream and writhe as their flesh burned in the sunlight. Mm, yes _yes_ YES. I _must_ do that. The shrilling cries of their suffering would be a prodigal symphony to my ears. Oh, but where to start? There's so many different ways to begin the _fun..._

"HATHAWAY! Can you hear me? I said we have to GO!" the annoying voice shrieked again, I glanced up to see that pathetic ghost. What was it's name? Hm... it doesn't matter, I had strigoi to hunt. I stood up and backed away from the bloody carcass. It no longer held my interest. I walked right through the ghost and started to descend down through the trees that were off to the side of the cliff. But before I could even make two strides, my body suddenly went ice cold as I became paralyzed and crashed down to the ground where I tumbled into a cluster of thorny bushes that caught my fall and stopped my body from rolling down the steep hill. I growled in irritation as the thorns dug in and scrapped my skin right before my vision went black and my mind was lit on fire...

The burning was so painful, that I could do nothing but endure the torture. And just as fast as it had flared up, the fire ceased. The icy numbness of my body soothed my senses and soon my eyesight returned. I saw Kate's tranparent body hovered above me as I started to regain control of my body again, I began to recall what I'd just done.

"_Oh my god..._" I weakly said. What the hell did I just do? It was like my mind was twisted into a frenzy of evil thoughts and action.

What's happening to me? It was like I didn't have any control of my mind or body. Am I really insane now? I shuddered, it reminded me eerily of how a strigoi's mind works. Strigoi. Resolve suddenly slapped me in the face, or was that just Kate?

I glanced at her as she sheepishly grimanced, "Sorry, I didn't know what else to do. I asked the others to help me, but then your shadows shut them out. And don't even ask me how I just slapped you, it just sorta happened. I have no idea..." she rambled on, I put up a hand to stop her. We could banter about this later. I needed to save the others.

I got up slowly, my body was aching and throbbing all over, the adrenaline was wearing off. I winced as I prodded the tender spot on my rib. I didn't have much more time until my body gave in to post batte fatigue, so I started walking back to the caves to start my tedious task of carrying everyone to the truck...

Turns out most of the cave hostages were capable of walking, just painstakingly _slow. _I only had to carry Kate's body down the steep hill. But it would of taken me a lot faster of a time to carry each and every survivor one by one down the hill and they still wouldn't of made it halfway down. But if they could walk the better for me, I needed to conserve my strength. The six scattered around the trees I would definately have to haul over to the truck...

In all it took me about a half hour until everybody was filed into the truck. I hadn't seen Kate's spirit since she slapped me, the moment she saw her body she flickered away. I took that as a good sign, maybe she reconnected back with her body. But I was on high alert nonetheless...

The truck's engine groaned in protest as I drove maniacally to the academy. When I saw the outline of the front gates ahead, I pressed further down on the gas peddle forcing as much speed into this metal beast as I could.

The young girl I spoke to earlier tapped on the window behind me and frailly shouted, "Hey you have to slow down! You're going to hit that gate!" I grinned widely in response and averted my attention back to the gate. That's _exactly_ what I'm going to do. Once the guardians on duty saw my face, I didn't have much time before I had to leave. There was no way in hell I was going to be spotted out here in Montana. I didn't want to go back to court yet.

I let off the gas as the truck knocked the front gate down ferociously. Once we made it inside the wards, I slammed my foot down on the break and steadied the steering wheel as the truck swerved wildly across the well groomed lawn. My passengers in the back that were conscious screamed from the suddenly collision. I put the truck into park and cut the engine, I reached over to the floor of the passenger side of the cabin and dug my hand into my duffle bag where I pulled out Lissa's bracelet and slipped it on.

I felt a slight tingle as the magic worked it's way over my body morphing my appearance. I jumped out of the truck as four guardians came charging at me, I held my hands up as I shrieked in a high pitched voice, "Please you have to help us! There w-was strigoi a-and they attacked us! P-please help, my friend is dying!". I purposely studdered to fit the part.

When the guardians reached me, they took in my appearance and lowered their stakes. At this precise moment, I _looked_ like a young moroi woman mid-twenties with dark red hair and deep forrest green eyes. To top it off, being the fantastic actress that I am, I wore a mask of terror and fright. "What do you mean strigoi? Where were they and how did you manage to escape?", one of the guardians asked coming towards me as the others started approaching my truck filled with the survivors.

"I, I don't know! O-one minute me and my friends are out camping and the next th-thing we're been dragged o-off into the woods by strigoi. M-my friend K-Kate Olendzki was going to visit her m-mom here b-but we didn't make it. T-then this women c-comes and saves us and t-told me to drive here! Please you're wasting time, my friend needs help!"

After that little rant, I went back to the truck swung the passenger door open, slung my duffle bag over my shoulder, and lifted Kate's limp body in my arms and took off sprinting for the infirmary.

I heard the shouts of the guardians faintly behind me but I paid no attention to them. I was running out of time. If I stayed over there with them, my story would continue to sound suspicious and I didn't have the energy to think up another half-lie. Plus once they found the stakes concealed in my duffle bag all hell would break loose. So I just ran, like my life depended on it, which was kind of true. Another life depended on it, Kate's. I had no idea if she was still alive or not so I needed to find out now.

I burst through the doors of the infirmary where a moroi receptionist seated behind a desk jumped when she saw me. Before I could start yelling for help Dr. Olendzki walked down the hallway that led to the reception area. When she glanced up to see what the commotion was all about, the file of papers she was holding dropped to the floor as she took in the scene before her.

"Katelyn!", she screamed in complete horror watching me carry her daughter's limp, bloody body in my arms.

The next few minutes flew by in what felt like seconds. Kate's body was ripped away from mine as a team of nurses and Dr. Olendzki herself, rushed her to a room containing lots of equipment. I followed them but kept my distance, they seemed to be too preoccupied to notice. There was so much going on that I couldn't really tell what they were doing, but from the frantic shouts and worried mumbles it didn't sound like it was going good.

I closed my eyes to focus on my barriers, I removed them and suddenly felt a painful headache. Gritting my teeth I focused on Kate's spirit, trying to locate her, silently hoping she wasn't there but in her own body.

I felt a cold shiver rack my spine and my eyes snapped open. Kate hovered before me but her appearance was very faint. She wore a sad expression as she stared at me emotionlessly. My blood ran cold as I realized she was different. She looked just like the other ghosts. My heart stopped beating at that realization because what I was seeing now was far worse than the pain my head was swimming in. Kate wasn't coming back, she had lost her will to the living world.

I locked gazed with her as tears started to form in my eyes. She stared back equally sad, she opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. Frustrated, her bottom lip trembled as she turned to her frantic mother performing chest compressions on her and pointed, then turned back to me. She had a serious look of concentration on her face as she barely whispered to me, _"It's okay Rose. Thank you for rescuing my body. Tell her I love her..._" she then looked at me with a smile on her face but it didn't meet her sad eyes as she faded away into nothing.

Silent tears streaked down my cheeks. Kate just died. I didn't save her in time, I wasn't fast enough. "Time of death..." I heard her mother murmur before she broke out into hysterics. I didn't notice I was walking up to her until I stood only an inch away. I slipped my bracelet off as I gripped her shoulder.

She flinched from the touch and lifted her head up. She jumped back as she saw who I really was, "_Rose!_" she half shrieked half sobbed. I gave her a grim smirk before I pulled her into a bone crushing hug, my rib screamed from the contact but I ignored it.

"She told me to tell you she loved you. I'm so sorry I didn't get her here sooner. M-maybe she c-could of pulled through if I did..." I trailed off as my voice cracked with emotion. She held onto me like I was the only thing keeping her standing, and in truth I think I was, as she broke out in a fit of sobs.

I would have stayed there all night comforting her over her loss but what happened next was not what I was expecting. My body was pried out of her embrace as I fell backwards and slammed onto Kate's lifeless body. My vision went black as violent currents of blazing fire engulfed my entire body. My head felt like I had just gotten a brain freeze from chugging a giant slurpee but at about ten times worse. I felt the sensation of a thousand razor blades slicing my skin and hundreds of pairs of cold hands grabbing at the torn flesh. My hearing was drowned in the sounds of many shrilling screams and then I passed out...

I felt like I'd just been run over by a bus. My entire body ached everywhere with soreness. I fluttered my eyes open and immediately shut my lids back down as my head throbbed from the bright lights above me. I tilted my head to my left and coughed. This only made my head ache more and I noticed that my throat felt dry. I tried sitting up but a strong arm pushed me back down. My eyes snapped open as I realized I wasn't alone.

"Whoa there Hathaway, you need to rest", a familiar voice said as I looked up to see that it was none other than Guardian Alberta Petrov. I don't know why but I felt relieved to see her. I smiled at her but swatted her arm away and stubbornly sat up anyway. But as I sat up I groaned as I felt a sharp pain bite into my side.

"Still stubborn as always..." another voice said. It was farther away and I glanced over to see Dr. Olendzki standing against the door frame of the room I was in. It was then that I noticed I was wearing an ugly pale green hospital shirt. I looked down and pushed away the papery fabric to reveal my upper torso wrapped up in some type of bandage. That's right, I broke a rib...

"What happened?" I asked, my voice sounded strange and my jaw felt funny. I lifted my hand to the side of my mouth and stiffened, it was swollen. _Crap._ This was going to be a bitch until it healed.

"That's what we should be asking you", Alberta said pulling me out of my thoughts. Dr. Olendzki quickly stepped forward holding up her hands. "She needs to rest, we can sort this all out later. Rose you have a broken rib and a minor fracture in your jaw. I've given you a lot of painkillers but you really shouldn't be talking just yet. You need rest." she said in a stern voice. She whispered something to Alberta.

She nodded her head, took one last look at me and strode out of my room leaving me alone with Dr. Olendzki. I grimaced remembering all that had just happened. I sadly looked into her eyes and asked the question I was dreading the answer to, "Where's Kate? Is she okay?"

Tears brimmed her eyes as she looked mournfully back at me, "She's gone." I didn't stop the sobs that erupted from my mouth as I started shaking my head. It just wasn't fair, I found her body, I talked to her spirit. She should of lived. "It's my fault, I was supposed to save her..." I whispered, barely audible.

I was gently embraced in a half hug as Dr. Olendzki said, "No Rose, you did all you could do. She lost too much blood, it was already too late." her voice cracked but she continued on, "Don't blame yourself for this. And you did save her, you brought her back to me and for that I own you my upmost appreciation and gratitude. If there is anything you ever need, please don't hesitate coming to me." My bottom lip quivered but I nodded in response before I said, "A cellphone."

She pulled back, "What?"

"I need to make a few calls. Can I borrow a cell phone and have a few minutes of privacy?" I asked. She looked at me for a few minutes trying to figure out if I was serious, but I gave her my best serious face. She nodded her head and walked out of the room.

I searched the room they had me in and breathed a sigh of relief as I saw my duffle bag sitting on the floor near my bed. I scanned the room to see if it had a window.._._

Dr. Olendzki returned a few minutes later with a cellphone in hand and tall glass of water. She handed me the water as I gave her a quizzical look as she also handed me two pills, "Don't worry these are just some painkillers, but they might make you drowsy, when you're done with the phone, swallow them and drink this entire glass of water. Rose you really do need the rest."

I nodded my head. I think I looked a bit frantic because she quickly said, "And don't worry we haven't contacted the royal court yet. That's something we'll discuss once you're in better shape. For now please, just rest." And with that she placed the phone on my lap and gave me another hug and left the room closing the door behind her.

I smiled, despite her tragic loss, she still treated her patients with such seriousness and dedication. She really was a great doctor. I gulped down the water and was a little shocked as to how thirsty I was and stuffed the pills into my jean pocket. Thankfully they didn't stick me into a hospital gown.

I didn't waste anytime, I got out of that bed, put on a fresh shirt from my bag, put the cellphone in my other pocket and went over to the window. I unlocked it and opened it up as wide as it would go. I sighed in relief, I was on the first floor. I threw my bag out the window and with much protest from my body, I heaved myself out the window too.

As my legs touched the ground, my balance quivered slightly and I had to grab onto the brick wall for support. I grumbled to myself, I was still drugged up from the painkillers I was given before which meant getting out of here was going to be more difficult than I originally thought.

I rounded the corner of the building's side and stepped onto a courtyard connecting to the parking lot and to my relief the lot was empty. Well not _completely_ empty, deserted off to the side sat a jet black motorcyle. Someone had left their riding jacket and helmet on the seat. I scanned the area double checking that no one would see me, around this time of day, most of the students, guardians and faculty were busy over at the teaching quads, meaning the opportunity to leave unnoticed through the school's old windy back exit road in the woods was highly possible. Plus school wasn't technically in session because it was summer break, so that was even better.

I walked up to the bike, shrugged on the jacket and winced from the slight pressure to my broken rib. I made note that I would have to take the extra painkillers soon seeing as the ones in my system now were already starting to wear off.

I tied my dufflebag securely to the back seat as I felt a mischievous grin spread across my face. I pulled on the helmet and felt the rush of adrenaline start to course through my veins as I readied myself to go on the run once again...

The fire before me blazed wildly as I threw in the final body. I had left the academy and returned to the caves where I collected all the strigoi bodies and started a bonfire. It had taken me awhile seeing as my body was fighting fatigue, but I fought through it.

I pulled out the cellphone Dr. Olendzki had given me and dialed a number I had memorized. After two rings, a groggy feminine voice answered, "Hello?" I silently chuckled, it was the middle of the night human time. I probably just woke her up.

"Hey Sydney, it's me Rose. Um, can you send a few alchemists to Montana?" I quickly explained the drama of the past few events only listing off the important details and gave her directions to the academy and cavern site. "The strigoi bodies are in a bond fire at the moment, there's a group of humans at the school and oh! I kind of set a house on fire a few miles back."

"WHAT!" her voice yelled through the reciever...

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A/N: For some sick reason, I _love_ writing in RPOV when she's all 'darkness crazy'. I know, I'm weird. Plus I find it kind of fun spooking you out.

ah, the joys of writing a suspense story... muah ha ha ha...

naw, I'm just messing with you, this is just a minor detail of the story outline. I haven't pre-written anything yet involving the whole "spirit darkness" thing. But I will tell you guys this, it plays a secret role in this story. But that's all I'm saying, I don't want to give away too much. I still want to keep you guys guessing on what's going to happen next. Review!

~Fabulous

ps- mystery POV hint:

-it's someone rose has met before.

-yes they're evil.

-no it's not tasha... maybe later...

i haven't decided yet if i want to make her good or bad.

pss- Getaway bike: black Yamaha YZF-R1 (the link for it is on my profile!)


	8. The Unexpected

A/N: Hey, so here's the new chapter. I really like writing in the mystery POV style so I'm adding in a completely (kind of) new character. This chapter is a little on the sour side though, it isn't as 'vibrant' as some of the others. I never liked Rose dating Adrian so that should explain this chapter a lot... enjoy?

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**Body located in the St. Vladimir's Academy morgue**

I felt like my skin had been set on fire and my bones had been turned to solid ice. I felt..._strange._ I opened my eyes and was momentarily blinded by the light above me. I sat up to find I had been lying down on a cool metal table and I was wearing only a hospital gown.

_Where am I?_ I distantly mused. I couldn't remember anything, not even my name. My body felt stiff, like I hadn't moved in days. I brushed my fingers against my forearm and flinched, my skin was ice-cold. It didn't have any heat. _What the hell?_ I pressed two of my fingers to the inside of my wrist and took my radial pulse. It was so slow I almost didn't pick up on it. _This can't be right. _

I was momentaily distracted as I noticed something yellow dangling on my right toe. It looked to be some sort of tag, but before I could make out what it said I caught onto something else.

I heard a soft thumping sound echo off the walls and bounce around in my ears, it was steady and repetitive. My mouth started to water from the sound and I glided my tongue over my extented fangs. _I'm thirsty_ a voice whispered in my head.

Without really realizing what was happening, I found myself sliding off the table. I started to follow the pleasant thumping sound. My pulse started to quicken as I drew nearer to the source. I walked down a narrow hallway that led to an office. The door was open and as I edged closer to the room, I noticed a man sitting at a desk typing on a computer. He had his back facing me so he couldn't see me approaching.

I inhaled his scent as the thumping became louder. _So thirsty... _that voice whispered to me again. Everything became suddenly clear to me, the thumping sound was coming from his throbbing heart. And than _scent_ was his luscious, sweet blood. I could feel my chest beat wildly as I realized I knew what that voice in my head wanted.

In a flash I stood directly behind the man and started to crouch down towards his head. I think it occurred to him to turn around just as I sank my fangs into his neck and fed. _Thirsty _was the only coherent thought that ran through my mind as I drained the life out of him...

**RPOV **

The hot water cascaded down the length of my body. My muscles relaxed under the soothing heat and gentle massage from the speed of the water droplets crashing down on my skin. I pressed my forehead against the smooth tile while I leaned more into my side that was already sagged against the shower wall. I let out a blissful sigh. It's been the first time in three days that I've been able to take a shower.

After I called Sydney in Montana, I've been constantly traveling as far away from the academy and cavern as I possibly can. In the process, I had to reluntantly abandon the motorcycle. Driving it was exhilarating but at the same time, with my injuries it wasn't the most practical. Once I was in better physical shape I would _definately _have to get one.

I've stolen three cars since then, even though I had set up a bank account and had a good bit of money on me, I needed it to last me and wasting it on a rental car just wasn't going to happen. I of course felt guilty for taking them, but I inflicted no damage to the cars, I just drove them until they ran out of gas where I would park them in a safe area and go find another.

And that's basically been my routine for the past fews days. I would spent the early part of my days driving, lost in my thoughts and the rest of the time asleep in various hotels. I've never felt so exhausted in my life, not to mention my body felt like shit. I guess the emotional strain mixed in with my fight injuries was catching up with me.

The swelling on my jaw had gone down, but it left me with a hideous bruise. Every time I would look in the mirror I would grimance. I tried my best to cover it up with consealer but it wasn't helping me much. I hated it because it reminded me so much of the black eye my mother accidentally gave me once. And back then it took a whole week before it healed. I shuddered from the memory. It triggered some of the anger I held back and it started trickle to the surface. Now wasn't the time to be thinking of my _mother. _Our relationship had started to improve recently, but that didn't mean I fully forgave her for the things she's done. Even if they were unintentional.

I lightly pressed my teeth together and flinched. Eating wasn't fun anymore. I had taken all the painkillers Dr. Olendzki had given me so I was left with an aching pain in my mouth. I couldn't eat anything solid, every time I tried, it was so excruciating that I would have to immediately stop. In the mornings, I would fawn over the pile of donuts in the breakfast line in the hotel, but would have to reluntantly stick to eating yogurt and drinking juice. Yesterday, I was so desperate I quickly wolfed one down in three bites but immediately regreted it afterwards when the sharp pain started flaring up from the friction.

I've bought some overthecounter painkillers at a drug store, but they weren't doing much good. Dhampirs have a strong resistance to human drugs. So at the moment, I would have to just wait out the pain until my body healed on it's own.

And to top off the physical pain, I looked terrible. I had cuts and bruises all over my arms and legs, I had bags under my eyes and my face seemed to be void of all emotion. I was trying my damn hardest to not think about what happened to me over the past week. But the stress of it all was taking it's toll on me regardless.

Ever since Kate's death, I've been locked in a glum mood. I didn't want to remember her or the heartwrenching look of pain that was in her mother's eyes when she confirmed her daughter's death. It was all too consuming, but at night when I was asleep, I would relive those moments repeatedly and so vividly. The way she looked, the bite marks across Kate's neck, her bloody dirty clothes, the emotionless look on her face when her soul crossed over to the land of the dead, her mother's frantic but unsuccessful attempt to revive her body... I mentally scolded myself. When I was awake, I forbade myself to think of it, but here I was drifting off again...

I didn't even acknowledge my feelings for Dimitri or Lissa. Whatever shard of love I felt for them was completely and utterly unimportant at the moment. _They_ betrayed _me._ So why the hell would they even deserve the privilege of me sparing them a thought._ I don't think so_. Not yet that is, eventually I'm going to have to face the facts and come to terms with my problems, but for the moment, the only thing I was concerned about was myself. My body needed some time for rest before I could even fathom the thought of going back to the royal court.

The water started to run cold so I cut the line off and eased myself out of the stall. For the first few days, my body was so sore and stiff I couldn't really even stand without being consumed in sharp pains and aches, so I spent my time sleeping in bed and soaking in tubs. My rib was starting to heal, but the spot was still very tender and a monstrous bruise had formed on my side. I dried off and put on a pair of cotton shorts and matching tank top. I pulled my wet hair into a loose ponytail and emerged from the bathroom where I careful slid into a plush king size bed that was covered in a mountain of pillows.

I was currently staying in the deluxe suite in a very nice hotel. I figured, I'm on vacation-might as well splurge. It had it's own private terrace, small modern kitchenette, lavish living room equipped with a huge plasma flatscreen TV, and the best part was the bathroom-complete with a five jet jacuzzi tub. I soaked in there for hours yesterday, just relaxing in a savory trance as it relieved my body pains.

I snuggled against the fluffy pillows surrounding me, last night was one of the best nights of sleep I'd had in awhile, I had no nightmares, just the blissful emptyness of deep sleep. This was by far the best hotel I've stayed at and just laying here in this bed erased all my worries. I had requested extra pillows so I could get support to my back to sleep upright because if I didn't, I'd end up shifting to my side and would be jostled awake from a sharp jabbing pain in my rib. But in this bed, with such a cushioned mattress and the comfort of all the pillows, I slipped into and stayed in sleep with ease.

I grabbed my cellphone that was placed on my nightstand and double checked that it was fully charged before turning it off. When I ditched the motorcycle, I left the cellphone with it as well. I knew once the academy noticed the bike missing along with me and Dr. Olendzki's cellphone, they'd but two and two together and try tracing it. So I made sure to rid of any evidence of my runaway as possible.

Unfortunately this left me with no means of communication if I needed help, so I bought a new cellphone complete with a new number to start out fresh. I placed the phone back down on the table and involuntarily yawned as I glanced out at the setting sun that was peeking through the shades of the widows in the suite. Just as I promised myself, I've been living on a human schedule. It was fantastic being out in the sun every day, but it did come with it's cost.

It left me unguarded at night when I slept where the strigoi were out stalking the night. I kept one of my two remaining stakes safely consealed under one of my pillows for extra precaution, but I haven't run into any strigoi since the cave fight. And to that I was relieved, don't get me wrong I _love _a good fight and could still hold my own, but I wanted some time for my injuries to heal before I fought again.

I was also getting low on weapons. I started out in this journey with three stakes and now I was down to my two backups. I was secretly in mourning over losing my stake. I just thought I'd have it for a little while longer. And I know what you're thinking, _why are you moping over an inadament object? can't you always just get another one?_ But hey, me and that stake went through a lot of tough times together. So yeah, I'd always miss my first stake.

My eyelids fluttered down as I started to drift asleep. And as I fell into the comforts of the sweet darkness it was then that my troubled thoughts decided to come barging in breaking me away from my placid state. I was drowned in despair and loneliness-remembering how much I've gone through lately.

And now, I just feel hopeless...

I originally thought this vacation would be temporary, but the more time I spent away from the Moroi world, the more I realized I didn't want to be a part of it.

If and when I returned, what was waiting for me? A boyfriend with no motivation of accomplishing something along with a drinking problem/cigarette addiction and let's face it, going insane. Plus his parents and aunt hated me for dating him, a best friend who stabbed me in the back and the once love of my life that views me as the most repulsive thing on this planet.

Yeah, I had _so_ much to look forward to. But if I stayed away, I could ment my screwed up life with a fresh new start. I could get a job out here with humans, save up some money and go to college like Kate's friends did. I could build myself up a brand new life where my past and problems would remain faded behind me until they would eventually dissolve away for forever. Maybe there still was hope for me after all. I just needed to piece it back together like a puzzel. With this new revelation, I drifted into unconsciousness. But as I felt myself fall asleep, I was suddenly aware of being pulled into a spirit dream...

I found myself standing in what seemed to be a hospital room. It looked strangely familiar to the one I was in just a few days ago at the academy. I looked down at my body to see I was wearing my dirty, bloody clothes from the cave fight._ Oh crap_, I thought. _Not another nightmare._ But before I started to panic someone opened the door and strode in.

Adrian stood before me in all his lazy royal glory. His brown hair meticulously styled messy, he was dressed in a dark grey long sleeve shirt that hugged his muscles. I was always impressed that he even had a built, most moroi didn't. To finish the look, he wore dark designer jeans and black leather shoes.

His emerald green eyes filled with relief when he saw me, "Little dhampir where have you been? I've been looking for you..." he trailed off as he took in my rough appearance, in one quick stride, he rushed over to me and pulled me into a tight embrace as he started gushing out a string of questions, "What happened to you? Who did this? Where are you? I'll come get you."

I flinched and pulled out of his embrace as a surge of shooting pain erupted from my side. I stumbled back as I clutched my side. I grumbled to myself, even in a dream, I couldn't escape my physical pain. Adrian's eyes widened with worry. But I put my hand up to stop him from speaking or coming any closer. "I'm fine", I muttered as I sucked in a sharp breath and stood up straight again.

"The hell you are, Rose come back to court, I'll heal you." he said almost frantic. "You have to come back, Lissa's a mess." I stiffened when he mentioned _her._ I shook my head before I said, "I told you I'm fine and I'm not going back anytime soon. I need some time alone."

I gave him an impassive look and turned my attention away from him as I said, "And I was under the impression you wanted some space too..." towards the end, my voice turned bitter.

He stood in front of me again and said, "Look Rose, I'm sorry about the fight and we-" he abruptly stopped as he squinted his eyes and gave me a puzzeled look.

"What?" I exclaimed. I shifted my weight to my other leg and tried cocking one of my eyebrows but was unsuccessful as he continued to give me a perplexing stare.

His brows furrowed in confusion as he said, "Your aura looks weird..."

"What do mean?" I asked now a little concerned.

"I don't how, but you're usual blackness is a light grey and you have less shadows. And I can pick up on some very faint rays of red. I've never seen anything like it..." he trailed off.

"Well I have been feeling strange lately. Maybe it's another shadow kissed side effect." I mused aloud. This was starting to scare me a bit. First it was the super strength, then hallucinations and the whole ghost thing, and then I had that crazy bloodlust problem... I shook my head. I didn't want to get into it now.

"Adrian I know you're concerned but I'm fine, and as for the aura, don't worry about it. I _was_ in a fight, but I'm okay now. So you don't have to stress over me-"

"I have every right to stress over you!" he cut it, "I know things have been a little crazy lately but, Rose you're my girlfriend. I deeply care about you and I think I l-love you..." his voice softened at the end.

Adrian's never told me that before. I stared back at him now with my own look of surprise. Guilt washed over me. I didn't deserve to be with him when I didn't share the same feelings. I suddenly remembered Dimitri's words when he questioned me about dating Adrian when he was still locked in a cell: _Adrian's a better person than he gets credit for. He'll be good to you._

But those words did nothing but make me feel worse, I wanted a real relationship with Adrian and I did love him, but only in a friend type of way. I was deluding myself with the thought of that love growing into something else. I looked back at Adrian now sad, I knew deep down we'd never work as a couple, no matter how happy I felt around him, it could never contain the amount of electric feelings I had with Dimitri. And I knew it was wrong to lead him on any longer.

I opened my mouth to say something when another memory popped in my head. It was when Adrian and I were fighting after I didn't show up to a party I said I'd go to with him. I had asked him to stay and talk with me but he had snapped saying that he was tired: _I just can't handle playing this game right now, _he had said.

My blood started to boiled from the memory. It was a reminder of how much we just didn't belong together and how sick I was with the whole concept of 'being in love'.

"Love is not a game Adrian. And at the moment, it's something I'm just not so desperate to obtain. No good ever comes from it."

"Rose what the hell are you talking about? Just come back, we'll talk about it in person." he said

"That's just it! I DON'T _want_ to talk about it! Any of it! Don't you understand? I. Want. To. Be. Alone!" he opened his mouth up to say something, but I cut him off. "What is so difficult for you to comprehend that I've had enough. Enough of it ALL! Nothing has gone right in my life. And then when I think I've finally found something good with someone, think I'm loved and cared for and supported, they pull the chair out from under me and stab my heart!". I've never been the kind of person to ever cry infront of someone. To pour my heart and thoughts out of my iron defenses. And _never_ would I cry infront of a guy, but I guess it's to be expected of me now. My life now seemed to be driven by the unexpected.

My cheeks burned as I felt the sting of hot tears slide down them. I sucked in a ragged breath and that only made things worse. "I like you Adrian. I truly mean than, but I'm just no longer capable of _love." _I spat the word as if it were something dirty. Well, it kind of _is. _

I quickly turned away from him, I didn't want him seeing me like this.

"Rose I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you, but you must understand where I'm coming from. Even then, after everything he's done, you kept running back to him." He was obviously referring to Dimitri

I swirled around in agitation, "What the hell are _you_ talking about!"

"Rose don't act naive, it's written all over your aura, you still have feelings for Dimitri. The real question in all of this is _why. _The guy's long gone and obviously doesn't want you anymore, yet you kept throwing yourself at him. And you know the worse part in all of this? You're _supposed _to be dating me!"

I flinched, he had started to shout. "Adrian, I'm sorry, I truly am, but maybe you're right." He fixed me a penetrating gaze. "What are you trying to say Rose, I was right in saying I've been deluding myself this whole time!"

"Well _partially_ yes" I replied, his eyes became heated but I quickly continued, "And it's not entirely Dimitri's fault either. I made the foolish decision when I let myself fall for his antics."

"_Oh_ so that's why you left? To 'get over him' and avoid me!" his voice hissed.

I glared at him. This wasn't going in the direction I wanted. Adrian was blowing this out of proportion and I wondered if his anger was spirit induced. I let out a loud sigh. I didn't want to upset him. "Look, this really isn't about him anymore. I left to clear my head, I've been through a lot lately. I've been doing some thinking and Lissa's a part of why I left. I've known Lissa since we were little kids. I always saw her as family. I _loved_ her uncondionally. But I was blinded by her too! I let myself get lost in the glow of our friendship, and little did I know that friendship was just bait for her sick and twisted trap! I..." I choked up suddenly. This was all too much, I wasn't making any coherent sense anymore. I realized that being here with Adrian, even if it was a dream, was provoking the pain and anger I kept locked up. I needed to get out of here. I can't be around anyone I know, it's all just too much.

I need my time to heal, and if I kept _any_ link to my old life, I would continue to swim in my own torment. What I was about to do next, I would always regret because even if I'm in pain, I hate to see others in it, or put others through it. I glanced away from Adrian. Just for a brief moment as I dried my traitor tears away and slipped on my guardian mask. With this quick resolve, I turned back to Adrian. My stomach felt like it was being stabbed by a hundred freezing cold knives as I readied myself to break his heart.

"I know I said I'd give you a fair shot, but honestly, I can't. I'm just not ready for anything right after everything that's happened with him and now Lissa. I need some time alone. _Single. _And if we're really being honest here, I do love you but just not in the same way as you obviously do for me."

Hurt and anger flickered over his face, "You know what, maybe it's a good thing you're gone. You obviously don't care about anyone but yourself. Just forget we ever dated..." and like the snap of a finger the dream ended and I woke up in shock.

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A/N: Don't forget to review! I'm curious to know what you're thinking! Push that little button down there or I might just have to resort to sending Adrian out to dream stalk you...

; )

~Fabulous


	9. Broken Sorrows

A/N: Hey guys! WARNING the beginning of this chapter is very depressing. Dimitri's fallen hard after Rose and Lissa both bitched him out, just keep that in mind. And plus he doesn't know Rose has left yet! Lissa knows because of the note and not finding her anywhere, but Dimitri hasn't talked to or seen anyone except his guards since Lissa yelled at him. This will make more sense later, promise.

I've also added in a new character: "Daniil" (it's a version of the name 'Daniel') You'll notice Dimitri sometimes refers to him as "Danik", that's his russian nickname. Enjoy!

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_"Some of the greatest battles will be fought within the silent chambers of your own soul." -Ezra Taft Benson_

**DPOV**

I finished my last meal and dropped it to the floor. The body made a soft thump as it rolled onto the dancing platform. I wiped the blood off my mouth with the back of my hand and licked the remnants off. I smirked at the twenty bodies that were littered before me in the small room. If I closed my eyes, I could still hear their wondrous screams and smell their intoxicating fear and feel their life fade and pour into mine.

I moaned in contentment. My senses were heightened, I had more strength. I felt more _powerful. _

Nathan said wedding receptions were the best place to feed and I couldn't agree more. This one had been quite small for my appetite and human blood wasn't as satisfying or as sweet as moroi or dhampir blood. I shrugged, I would find more time later to feed again. Not to mention I would sip on Rose soon anyway.

A growl erupted from my chest at the thought of her. Galina was getting impatient with me and had bumped up the deadline to awaken Rose. I don't really see the point in waiting for her permission anymore. All I had to do was bite her like we already do but unlike other times, I would continue to drink until I drained her. Afterwards I just had to simply feed my blood into her.

But there was always something holding me back from actually going through with it. There was a whisper in my head of my old self. He didn't want Roza to be turned, he didn't want to hurt her... I shook my head. Sometimes when I was alone and thought of Rose, that whisper would grow louder and_ I didn't like it. _I used to be a blinded fool before I was awakened and now I saw things with clarity. I didn't want that whisper in my head muddling up my thoughts and logic. And that's when I would binge drink, like I just did.

When I fed, that whisper faded away. It no longer bothered me. I abruptly left the ballroom searching for a scent. I picked up speed when I easily found one. I opened a door that led to an alleyway. I saw a Moroi man walking down the narrow space, he seemed to not notice me. Within a split second I stalked over to him and grabbed a hold of his throat as I pushed his body up against the brick wall.

A look of pure terror and shock spread across his face. I grinned widely exposing my fangs as I gripped his throat more firmly. His limbs flailed around him as he gasped for a single breath. I chuckled, that wasn't going to happen. I clamped down more tightly as my fingers bore dangerously close to piercing the flesh and severing his artery. The pulse in his neck kicked roughly in my hand.

The thick throbbing of his erratic heart was enjoyable. I didn't want to bite him just yet, the scent of fear alone was _almost _as pleasurable as taking blood. My mouth started to water as I drew my fangs closer to his neck. _Stop this now_, the whisper faintly echoed in my head. I loosened my grip on the man's neck as my body became rigid from the voice. I thought I'd gotten rid of it, but apparently not. _You don't want to do this, _it commanded. I hissed at the remark, it didn't control me. To prove my point, in one swift thrust my fangs dug into the neck and than annoying whisper faded away again as I fed...

I lurched upward in bed breathing hard. I glanced to the left to find the bed's pillows and sheets ripped to shreds. _It was just a dream_, I told myself but it wasn't. It was a _memory_ of the _nightmare _I once lived in. I involuntarily pressed a finger in my mouth to check for fangs. The callous skin slid over flat teeth and I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding.

I forced my body off the bed and into a standing position. I was drenched in a cold sweat but I could care less. I walked over to the bathroom adjacent to the bedroom. I turned the tap on and brushed cold water over my face as I took deep breaths to calm myself. But the suffocating anguish drowned me unmercifully.

I felt my body slump to the tiled floor as every molecule of my soul burned painfully. _Why_ hadn't I listened to that voice? I was so close to gaining control of my body that night, but I failed. I would of given anything in the world to be staked or burned alive that night. I _killed_ so many innocent people.

I _watched_ myself _murder_ them in cold blood as my body was being possessed. Becoming strigoi was the most bloodcurdling, cruel thing to ever happen to me. The entire time my soul was buried deep within my body clouded in a dark fog. The fog was paralyzing and I could do nothing but catch glimpses of the terrible things that monster was doing.

And the worst part in all of that was _Rose_... I love her _so much_ but what I did and _wanted to do_ was unforgivable. My breathing became hitched just thinking of her...

It's been almost a week since I've seen or heard from Valisa or Rose. I've been working hard to stay away from the both of them. I was currently on a human schedule just to make sure I didn't run into them.

I kept to myself, locked away in the apartment. I spent my days tormenting myself with the memories of all I did over the past few months. I was bored in this apartment and my body ached from no physical exercise. So I spend all night working out in the gym the complex had conveniently below my apartment.

My body still hadn't adjusted to the less strength I had. Strigoi had immense strength- so when I went to lift weights for the first time again I nearly killed myself in the process. This was something I was secretly thrilled and disappointed in. I was never a man to fantasize over suicide, but I was weak now. And the dark thoughts would occasionally run through my mind.

I worked out long and hard, I even got to visit one of the outdoor running tracks as well. I hardly ever ate or slept, I still wasn't used to a normal sleeping pattern. And I would mostly wake up every other day after a nightmare or memory like I just had. I would quickly drift into an unsettling insomnia where I would fear the sleep where my thoughts were unguarded and I was taken whole. Completely consumed in torture.

That's how my 'routine' has been. Avoid everyone, workout at night until I collapsed and starved until my body screamed in fatigue all while I writhed in my agonizing memories and guilty.

I flinched remembering how I had broken down and called Rose five days ago...

_The princess had just left my apartment, the mask I had been gripping onto slipped off. I slumped back down to the couch, my limps felt heavy as my body sagged from my the weight of guilty that was pressing down on my shoulders. I never thought I could ever hurt this bad before._

_Every word the princess spoke was truth. I didn't deserve the second chance at life I was given. Had I died, Rose could of moved on and be happy. Now she was in misery by my hand because of how I've pushed her away and hurt her with those awful words._

_I leaned into the couch, my eye lids felt heavy. I still hadn't adjusting to sleep yet, so under all of the stress of the past few hours, my body collapsed in fatigue..._

_I found myself standing in an elegantly decorated room. There was a sitting area, large four post bed, some type of elaborately hand-carved dresser armoire. I stiffened as I heard a rustling noise coming from inside the room connected with this one. _

_I cautiously approached the smaller room to find that it was a bathroom. I saw a beautiful woman dressed in a dark purple silk dress that fit the curves of her body perfectly. Her brown hair was styled in curls cascading down her slender body. _

_I walked up to her, she swirled around immediately as if she could sense me coming. She had the most beautiful face I'd ever seen, but as I studied her closely, those pretty facial features where twisted into a look of shock and fear. _

_As she had turned, her long curly hair was flicked back exposing her neck. I felt my stomach become contorted into a painful knot as I saw all the bruised bites marks that were scattered across her neck. "Dimitri", she murmured barely audible. _

_**Dimitri**__, this monster wasn't him. I'm the __real__ Dimitri. How could she confuse me with this beast? Hold on a minute, this doesn't feel right. What's that sound? It sounds like some kind of drumming beat and it has a scent too? Wait-_

_All of the sudden that monster grabbed her roughly by the arms and bit into her delicious neck. NOOO! I screamed in protest until the monster's logic overwhelmed me._

_Everything made sense again-yes, of course this is me..._

_My body jerked itself alert as I sucked in a breath. Oh no, no no no. This didn't happen, I begged myself that what I just experienced was only a dream. But no, it wasn't. It was my very own worst nightmare that had come true. I did such terrible things to Roza._

_I was never the kind of man to weep, but right now I found m__yself shedding silent tears. I knew I screwed up whatever hope our relationship held, but I couldn't stand the thought of not having her near me. I had to go find her. I had to reach out to her somehow mend this mess I had made. _

_I reached out and grabbed the phone that was on the coffee table. I found Rose's number and tried calling her. Her voice sang through the line as her voicemail message aired. I could feel sorrow's iron hands pulling at me. Forcing me down deeper into a dark pool of pain with each aching second that past by. The message finally ended and I launched into a jumble of pleas: _

"_Roza I am so sorry. I never meant to do those things I did to you. I __**tried**__ so hard to stop myself but I couldn't control __**it. **__Please, you have to forgive me, I... I need you like you'd never believed to just forgive me._.." _my voice started to choke and I didn't know if I could continue. But I had to try. "__**Please**__ believe me, I never wanted any of it to happen. I love you so so much, Roza I can't..."_

_I immediately slammed the phone down. What did I just do? _

Since then I've acted like it never happened. I was so ashamed at how much I depended on her strength. I needed her so badly that night, but she wasn't there to comfort me. How could she be? I was the one to push her away. I tried to block the memory out with physical exercise but it wasn't distracting me...

I was suddenly startled out of my thoughts as a loud knock emulated from the other side of the bathroom door. I stood up quickly and wobbled slightly, I couldn't remember the last time I ate and from the look of my bloodshot eyes and bags underneath them, I was going to have to force myself to eat something soon.

Bang, bang, bang...

I grumbled at the door but gripped the knob and jerked it open just as I nearly missed a blow to my head as the person who had been knocking had their fist ready to bang the door again. I grimaced, it's a shame I dodged...

"Well you look like shit!" Danik remarked cheerfully to me. Guardian Daniil Motkova was one of my long time good friends. His parents were Russian and he used to attend the academy with me and Ivan when we were younger back home, but his father relocated to the states. He ended up graduating from an American academy and landed himself a court assignment.

I was both relieved and troubled to find out he was one of my guards. It was nice to see an old friend, but it made me feel homesick. I quickly brushed the thought aside, I didn't deserve to go back home. I simply gave him a blank stare in return. He nodded his head, "If you're done throwing a pity party for yourself in there, you've got a visitor."

He turned away from me and strode down the hallway expecting me to follow. And reluctantly I did.

"You certainly know how to attract the ladies Belikov," he said over his shoulder. I rolled my eyes over that comment. Danik was always the kind of person to make comedic jabs at the most awkward of times. I shook my head remembering my public questioning earlier in the week where one of my interrogators, Reece I believe was the name, asked a ridiculous question about my eyes. Daniil slipped up on his guardian protocol and stifled a laugh at the senseless question. That was always one of his bad habits, he never could keep a straight face.

Any shred of easygoingness left my mind as I noticed Tasha Ozera standing in the middle of the living room of the apartment.

"Dimka!" she shouted as she practically tackled me down to the ground. I faltered slightly from fatigue but I gripped her shoulders to steady us both and I pulled out of the hug before I collapsed. Tears brimmed her wintry blue eyes as she placed her palms on either side of my cheeks.

"It really is you..." she trailed off as she sniffled. At first I was taken off guard by the sudden contact but Tasha was a good friend of mine too and I even used to kind of be interested in her, but that all changed when I met Roza... I mentally scolded myself for thinking of her.

I embraced Tasha in a real hug to which a sob escaped her mouth. I rubbed her back as I said in a soft voice, "Yeah it's me. It's good to see you again Таша." I pronounced her nickname in Russian. She always loved it when I said it that way. This only made her sob harder.

I eyed Daniil from the corner of my eye. He was good friends with Tasha as well. He glanced at me for a brief moment before he turned to the two other guardians in the room. He whispered something to them and they gave him a curt nod before walking off to other sections of the apartment leaving me and Tasha with some privacy.

He stayed and simply leaned against a far wall near the kitchen and crossed his arms. I smiled back in gratitude, he winked just before he started to stare off into space pretending to tuned out me and Tasha.

I guided her towards the couch where she continued to latch onto me as if I might float away if she let go. After a few minutes, she composed herself and disentangled herself. She wiped her now puffy eyes and smiled back at me.

I forced a warm smile directed for her ,I hadn't seen her in so long. I didn't feel awkward around her now, but I knew this great show of courage to keep a brave face wasn't going to hold up for much longer. "So how's your teaching going?" I asked lightly to break the silence.

She gave an airy laugh as she said, "Only you Dimka would ask how _I'm _doing after you're the one who's come back from the undead." I know she was trying to lighten the mood, but I automatically flinched from her words. I didn't want to discuss it.

Picking up on my mood swing, she clasp one of her hands into mine. I didn't pull away as she gently said, "Sorry I didn't mean to upset you. The kids are on break now so I'll be teaching a few summer classes." I gave her a small smile in response.

Suddenly Daniil animated back to life, "Oh yeah_ Tash_, I forgot you teach 'kah-rah-tay' to badass little eight years old humans! How's that working out for you?" his voice dripped with sarcasm. Maybe now's a good time to mention, when I said Daniil and Tasha were good friends, I meant they enjoyed harassing one another with endless sarcastic banter.

Tasha lifted her free hand up and flicked a small quarter sized fire ball directly at his face, he batted it away with his hand but he flinched as some of it singed his skin.

"Whoa there fire-crotch, I was just trying to lighten the mood!", he said with a smirk on his face.

"You're a crappy guardian, how was it again that you managed to get this job?" she hissed.

"With my mad ninja skills and charming good looks of course!" he beamed as he wiggled his eyebrows at her. I swear if it wasn't for the fact that Tasha was on the move to set him on fire again, I'd say they were a perfect match. People do say opposites attract. He was the charismatic, laid-back one where as she was the fierce, serious one.

They complemented each other nicely. Maybe if they weren't always trying the piss each other off, they might make a nice couple. Despite my wrecked life, my friends at least could have their happy ending. I'd have to mention something to Danik later on...

Before I could continue my musing Tasha let up a loud sigh, "Whatever, you're not worth torching up today." She turned her attention back to me.

I watched Daniil glance at Tasha slowly before he went back to being stone silent. I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my chest. I shouldn't be here to ruin their normal lives, my pathetic future, if I even had one, wasn't going to ever be normal ever again. Not without Roza...

It felt like I had minutes left until I couldn't hold my mask up anymore. Tasha's thumb gently rubbed a circle on my hand. I abruptly removed my hand from her. I couldn't do this. The only hand I wanted caressing mine is the one I can never have anymore.

My mask crumpled at that moment. I knew Tasha was a good person, but I just didn't see her in a romantic way and right now, with a touch like that, it was obvious she still wanted to be more than just friends. I quickly stood up from the couch to distance myself from her, I saw a flicker of hurt twinge in her eyes but she quickly covered it up.

"Tasha, I'm sorry. I- I need to be alone now. Maybe I'll see you another time..." I trailed off as I noticed she was glaring at me now.

"You know what Dimitri, maybe that's not such a good idea."

I gave her a confused expression.

"After _you_ break up with her and she attacks you like a feral animal, you _still_ pine away for her." She stood in front of me now.

"What? Tasha, what are you talking about?", this was starting to worry me. Sure Tasha was hot-headed in a Moroi courtroom, but around friends? She never lashed out.

"Oh don't give me that bullshit _Dimitri. _You know exactly who I'm talking about. Your little slut you used to mentor." she hissed as she gave me a penetrating glare before stalking over to the front door of the apartment, where she jerked it open catching the guardians on duty outside off guard. The last thing I heard was the crash of the door being slammed shut.

"Like I said, you've got a way with woman." Daniil snarkily added in the awkward silence...

It's been an hour since Tasha stormed out of the apartment. Since then I've done nothing but retreat to the bedroom to sulk. How did my life get so bad? One minute I'm making love to my soulmate, the next thing I know, I wake up a monster and then I'm pushing away my only salvation and friends. I felt _broken._

A strong arm gripped my shoulder and I jumped. I was too lost in thought to notice someone had entered the room. I glanced up to see Daniil giving me a grim look, "You've been summoned to the Guardian Counsel Building, Guardian Croft would like a private meeting with you." I nodded my head.

"And dude, do us all a favor and SHOWER. Your meeting isn't for another hour. So hop to it!", and like a bolt of lightening, he left the room...

Turns out I did need a shower after all. Just not as dramatically as Daniil had made it seem. I knew he was just trying to cheer me up, but there was no hope. I had taken a quick shower and shaved. I had recently acquired a few pieces of new clothing, so I looked presentable to whatever this meeting was about.

I trudged along with my five escorts as we crossed a large courtyard. "WHAT did you say to her!", I heard an angry female voice screech as my group pasted by a small sitting area off to the side. It was Princess Valisa yelling at _Ivashkov._ No matter what I told Rose, I still hated even knowing the fact he was dating her.

He muttered something to her and that seemed to set her off more, but before she continued her shouts, she turned her head and stared directly at me. "_YOU!"_ she hissed. Oh no, this can't be good. I suddenly felt _very_ cold. I was locked in her gaze as I unexpectedly started to feel hundreds of tiny sharp prickling shadows gnaw at my flesh. I was frozen where I stood. The only thing I could do was stare into her eyes and endure the shooting pain.

And then as soon as it came, I was released of her hold and the pain vanished. I watched as Christian Ozera, Tasha's nephew, grab a hold of her arms as he whispered something in her ear and dragged her away from the courtyard with Ivashkov quickly following. He cast me a glare before he turned his back and started to jog up to them.

_What was that about? _I didn't have much time to dwell on it seeing as I was ushered away before I caused a commotion...

I sat down in an old creaking wooden chair in a dusty small room. It appeared to have been used as a storage room once but had been long since neglected. I involuntarily sneezed as the door to the room suddenly swung open.

In walked Guardian Croft with a folder is his hand. " Gesundheit" he gruffly said, "I suppose strigoi don't sneeze do they?" he asked as he sad down on an old leather chair than stood across from me on the other side of the table. He had a small glint of humor in his eyes as if he were making a joke.

"Besides charmed silver, I don't think they have allergies. Or at least not from what I remember" I replied.

The glint dissolved away as he gave me an emotionless, blank stare. With all humor lost, he slipped into guardian mode. "Do you know why, Mr. Belikov, I summoned you here?"

I grimaced and shook my head in response. "Interesting..." he said as he opened up his folder and started laying photos out before me. I sucked in a breath, they were photos of the fight in the church with Rose.

"These", he said as he placed the final few before me, "are photos taken from the surveillance footage recorded five days ago of you and Guardian Hathaway." A small part of me surged with pride hearing Rose's guardian title. After all she's been through, she graduated and became a guardian, I couldn't be more proud of her. I only wished I could of been there for her on the ceremony day...

"Eh hem, Mr. Belikov did you hear me or are you hard of hearing now?" I flinched, I hadn't noticed he spoke to me again. "Sorry", I said.

"_As I was saying,_ can you confirm that you did indeed see Guardian Hathaway at this location at this time on this date?" he asked while pushing a piece of paper towards me with the information sprawled across it. "Yes", I said. Why did he want a witness statement from me?

And as if he could read my mind he asked, "And can you confirm that you were amongst the group of people who last saw Guardian Hathaway before her disappearance?"

"_Disappearance?" _I asked. What was this, some kind of joke to test my emotional responses or something?

"Yes, I'm sure you're aware that Hathaway's been missing for almost a week now and-"

"Actually no I wasn't aware of it", I cut in. He glowered at me for cutting him off but that was the last thing to concern me right now. A painful rush of cold waves engulfed my body as my heart stopped beating. In this moment the world no longer mattered. I felt time cease to tick as a chilling voice echoed silently in my head the words I didn't want to believe: _Roza's gone_...

**Woman waiting in the shadows**

I silently snickered as I waited behind the tree's shadow. My servant was trembling like the coward he was behind me. I menatly made note, that once I was done here, he'd make a tasty snack for my long trip back home. I stiffened as the scar-faced moroi made her way towards the dimly lit sidewalks, edging closer and closer to where I was hidden.

And just then, she passed by at the perfect moment. I grabbed her by the throat, clamping enouh pressure so she couldn't scream, but not so much to snap her neck. I jerked her body towards me and rammed her head against the tree trunk.

In a flash I dragged her limb body to my car. Miles popped the trunk and I tossed the body in. It was time Ms. Ozera and I got aquianted...

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A/N: dun dun dun... Okay, I couldn't resist writing another anonymous POV. So what do you think? Review and tell me!

~Fabulous


	10. Moving On

A/N: Happy Friday! : ) Okay, so this is where the story starts to become complex. The last couple chapters (and basically this one too) have been "filler". So I just wanted to put this out there, if you guys add a suggestion for the story in a review that intrigues me and complements the storyline, i'll send you a shout out in my A/N and you'll get a special sneak peek for an upcoming chapter that your idea inspired. Sound good? Let me know...

Or you could always PM me. I would love to answer your questions or chat about ideas. Don't be shy! I won't bite! ; )

And now on with the new chapter...

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**RPOV**

_My body felt sore and I could barely see through the darkness. My mouth had a metallic taste to it and my chest felt as if someone had set it on fire and then plunged a bucket of ice over it. I hear sirens wailing in the background and could barely make out flashing bright lights in the distance, but my vision was blurred._

_I could smell something burning, but what? I heard a cough from beside me and I craned my neck to get a better look of the source and was met with Lissa's bright jade green eyes._

_We locked gazes for a moment before reality decided to make it's presence known. At the same time we looked at our surroundings and the site I saw was horrifying. The car Lissa's family and I we driving in had been flipped over and slammed into a huge willow tree._

_Lissa's parents' bodies were slack and her mom's head was twisted into a very awkward position. Her brother's body lay wedged in between the furthest back seat and some piece of metal that had been driven through the car from the roof. But the worst part was seeing all the blood._

_Everywhere I looked I saw thick puddles of blood gushing out of the bodies and smeared on all the surfaces. I was soon pulled out of shock to the sound of Lissa's ear piercing screams..._

I bolted upright in my bed panting. My sheets had been tossed around and my forehead was coated in a thick film of sweat. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and put one hand on the night stand and one over my heart as I tried to catch my breath.

It had been so long since I had a dream, or more like a _nightmare_, of when Lissa's family had died. Usually, when I was younger and under a lot of stress, I would have flashbacks of that terrible night in my sleep.

My breathing had slowed down to a more steady pace so I decided it was okay to actually walk now. Lately, I've been gaining my strength back. I got up slowly, making sure I had my balance and made my way over to the bathroom where I splashed my face with water and gulped down two large glasses of the cool, clear liquid.

But this wasn't helping much, so I threw on some jogging pants, and a loose cotton shirt. I slipped on my trainers and grabbed a stake and strapped it to my leg. On impulse I picked up my cellphone, turned it to silent and slipped it into my pant pocket.

My injuries were healing, and my rib didn't hurt all that much anymore. It was time I got a good workout out in. As I left my room, I noticed it was the evening and the sun had just begun to set. I made my way out of the hotel lobby and walked straight into the nearby forest.

I slipped into a steady pace jogging on the uneven terrain. After an hour my mind seemed to be calmed down. Seeing Lissa in that nightmare pulled at my heart strings. I knew I was running out of time before I would give in to my stubbornness and check up on her.

I could still feel the bond's hum in the back of my mind. But I just refused to investigate any further. I may still love her but that didn't mean I _forgave _Lissa for what she did. How could my _best friend _be so oblivious to my own feelings?

I took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh piney scent of the trees. Running was something I learned from _Dimitri. _And although I was taught that it was great for teaching you endurance and giving you an option to flee if you found yourself outmatched or losing in a fight, I've grown to secretly enjoy it.

The feeling of wind brushing your skin, the harmonious steady pace of your limbs and heartbeat moving as one, the exhilaration of fresh air swirling in your lungs... it cleared my mind. I suppose everyone has their own special way of venting out stress and for me, running had become mine.

Unfortunately, it leaves me with loosing track of time. My stomach gave an upsetting growl as I glanced about my surroundings. I found myself a good eight miles away from the hotel.

Deciding I was calm enough to find something to eat, I turned around to start my way back to my room where I could order some room service. But no sooner had I turned around, was I met with the glares of five sets of bright red-ringed eyes. Great, can my night get any worse? I heard myself groan aloud, so much for relieving my stress...

**Tasha's POV**

I walked briskly down a narrow street at court. I had bandaged my arm up but it was useless- it was broken. I growled, I was going to have to go to the med clinic to get a cast. But I was running out of time and _she _said to be as unsuspicious as possible.

I wanted so badly to tell someone about what happened last night, but every time I tried I was blocked with a dark fog that clouded over my mind. And now I was terrified with what I was going to do, but I didn't have a choice. _She_ was going to _kill_ _Dimka_ if I didn't.

I was so drown in my thoughts of worry that I didn't notice someone was calling my name until a strong arm gripped my shoulder. I lurched to a stop and spun around. I looked up to see Daniil towering over me in all his 6'3 muscled glory. His dirty blonde hair was tousled in a messy style that make him look so- _Stop drooling over him!_ I chastised to myself as I gave him a flippant glare and hissed, "_What do you want_?"

His sly smirk slipped off his face as he noticed the bloody gash on my forehead. I grumbled to myself, I forgot to clean it up. He gave me a serious look as he dropped his hand, "To see how you are..." he trailed off as his eyes went wide and filled with worry.

My gaze softened, he was just trying to be nice and here I am always bitching at him. I stared into his warm hazel eyes. I felt a small tingle crackle through my nerves. I could get lost in those mossy green eyes that radiated with warmth from their golden centers all day...

I shivered and shook my head, I shouldn't be feeling this way, I wanted someone else...

I glanced down to my watch. _Fuck._ I had three hours until my deadline. I looked back at Daniil, I had to get rid of him, he was slowing me down.

But as I lifted my head up, the curtain of hair I so tediously styled over my shoulder, flipped back exposing my neck. Daniil took a sharp intake of breath as he noticed the deep bruised bite mark on the side of my neck and the gruesome dark purple fingers imprints scattered over my throat.

His arms shot out and his hands grasped my forearms firmly. He bore his eyes into mine as he said, "Tasha, what the hell happened to you! Who did this? I'll make them suffer." I felt a flutter in my stomach, he was so stoic in his exterior, but somehow I knew deep down he was anything but in this moment. His facial features were splashed with traces of anxiousness and concern. I felt my heartbeat speed up at the feeling of his warm skin against mine. I flinched.

From this simple brushing of skin, I noticed the fog loosen up and dissolve slightly. Thinking he'd hurt me, Daniil removed his arms away from me at once. I felt the fog start to strengthen again, in a desperate plea I quickly grabbed Daniil's arm roughly, "Danni," I addressed him by his english nickname in the hopes of fully catching his attention, "you have to look over Dimka. You have to protect him."

"What?" he waved his free hand. "He's a grown man Tash, he can look after himself. Now what happened to you?" he persistently asked. The fog edged closer over my mind, I had to try a different tactic.

I locked gazes with him, and as I did his eyes glazed over, "Forget what you just saw. You cannot let Dimitri leave court. He has to stay safely within the protection of the wards. You must do _whatever_ it takes to make sure he doesn't leave." I broke the compulsion and he blinked a few times. Satisfied, I backed away from him just as the fog took control over me again.

I took off running, there was so much to do and so little time...

**RPOV**

I was shocked to say the least. How was I taken so off guard? I should of felt them coming. But I didn't, I felt no nausea whatsoever. I stiffened as the five strigoi moved and surrounded me in a tight circle formation. I quickly grabbed the stake concealed on my leg and gripped it firmly. I wasn't going to let them intimidate or over power me. Most of my injuries had healed, so I could take them down with ease.

But as they circled me, I noticed a sharp fiery sensation burst inside my stomach and then my vision blurred. My pulse picked up in speed, I couldn't see anything. But just as fast as it came, my vision focused back to normal except I saw everything with a red tint.

Without realizing what was happening, my body sprung into a defensive crouch and hurled itself towards one of the strigoi with a powerful kick. He went flying back a few yards where his body crashed into a tree and snapped it in half.

The other strigoi stared back at me with a look of shock of their own. My movements were powerful and spontaneous and I reacted without my full sense of will. I gave a powerful punch to the next strigoi and with my other hand stabbed her heart with the stake.

I sent a blow to the stomach of another as I dashed over to the one near the tree that had started to come towards me. I shot out my arm to his chest and knocked him over again. I sunk the stake into his heart and swirled around to see three undead figures approaching me.

I was distantly aware of long coils of shadows surrounding me from my peripheral, but that didn't matter at the moment.

I charged at one of the strigoi but abruptly staggered back as they slammed a hit to my stomach. I heard a vicious, feral growl rumble from my chest as I moved in a blur back up to him where I grabbed a hold of his neck and snapped it-making a loud cracking noise just as I dug my stake into his heart at the same time.

I deflected a blow to my head from one of the others. I sent an uppercut swing to their jaw where she staggered back as the other came up behind me. He had his fangs dangerously close to my neck. I elbowed him in the gut forcefully as I head butted the one I had hit that was now preparing to charge back at me.

I saw a few sparks flutter across my vision but I ignored it as I plunged my stake into her chest. But I missed the heart, she howled in pain as I quickly dragged the stake's tip up the ribs, breaking them as I went until I struck the heart. I pulled the stake out and then brought it back down fully piercing the heart.

The body slumped down to the ground just as I received a painful blow to my upper left arm. I grunted at the sudden throbbing pain that surged through my nerves from the impact. Thankfully the hit didn't cause any real damage, but that didn't mean it did not _hurt. _

I stumbled back as I bit down on my bottom lip. The strigoi gave me a twisted smile enjoying my sudden unease. I ignored the gesture and lunged at him. I knock him to the ground where I slashed the surface of his skin on his throat with the stake's tip.

It was then my turn to give a twisted smile as he screamed out in agony. He was about to send a defensive blow to my side, but I saw it coming. I quickly dragged the stake down his chest where I dug into the flesh above his heart. His limbs went slack as I paralyzed him. But I hadn't killed him yet, meaning he could still feel _pain. _I grated the stake across the surface above his heart and grinned watching the flesh burn. Even though he could not move, a whimpered growl sounded from inside his chest as his eyes said the rest. They were filled with misery and fear.

I grinned wider, I was going to have_ fun_ torturing him, _Stop this and just kill him..._ a voice sounded in my head. I flinched, "_WHO SAID THAT!__**" **_I shouted into the dark forest. I scanned the area, no one was there.

I turned my attention back to the motionless body beneath me, I had a task before me. I was just about the scrape the stake over his burning flesh again as my vision blurred once more.

I suddenly felt as if a fog had been lifted from my mind. My eyesight slowly faded back to normal with no trace of the red tint. The urge to torture dissipated as rolling waves of nausea tumbled around in my stomach. I glanced down at the stake I was holding and the bloody body before me. In one swift movement, I plunged my stake into the heart and stood up.

_What the hell's wrong with me _I mused as I saw the five strigoi bodies scattered before me. I killed them so quickly and with so much strength, it was like I was one of _them._ I was pulled out of my thoughts as I heard someone start to clap.

My nausea increased as a tall strigoi man emerged from the shadows of a nearby tree. He continued to clap his hands as he approached me. "Bravo Hathaway, you're as talented as they say-"

"Who the hell are you?" I cut in. I knew I shouldn't be carrying a conversation with the evil undead, but this bastard knew who I was and I _didn't like that._

He chuckled, "Well you don't waste anytime do you? I've heard of your temper as well. And let me just say, for what's it's worth, you would of made a fantastic addition to my coven. And with your shadow kissed abilities, _even better_. It's a shame really, but I do have to kill you now."

That did it. I lunged at him, but he easily sidestepped and sent a blow to my chest. I stumbled back but caught my balanced and went in for a kick to his side. He dodged again and backed up.

"You know, there is another option to consider. I'd hate to waste your talent. If you agree to help finish off the Dragomir line, I'll awaken you."

A hissed erupted from my lips. Sure I was mad at Lissa right now, but I would _never_ want any harm to happen to her. I felt my blood boil, this bastard needed to die.

"Now now... here me out." he said as he lifted his hands up in a non-threatening manner. "You could be free of her spirit darkness if you're awakened. And besides, you left her unprotected at the royal court. She's _obviously _not important to you, so why don't you take this offer?" he asked.

I felt my mind hesitate, maybe he was right. I could _finally_ get rid of her. I looked away from him to think it over. And that's when the thought dissolved away. I felt my mind become more focused. _Shit_ I thought. He tried to use compulsion on me.

I needed to stop hesitating. I focused my attention back to him just long enough to notice he came charging at me. I barely dodge out of the way as he stumbled past me, but in the process of falling, he grabbed my arm and took me down with him...

The next few minutes where filled with endless struggles as we tried to overpower one another. I closed my eyes and channeled my body to that super strength I had before, I felt an icy cold sensation brush against my hands and I snapped my eyes open.

I sucked in a breath as I watched grey smoke sliver out of my fingertips and wrap around the strigoi's neck. His struggles ceased as his body went very still. Unfortunately he was still capable of speaking, "Rose listen to me, my master said I had to kill you, but if you somehow agreed to take out the Dragomir girl, I could awaken you and you could join us..." he stopped his rambling as I punched him square in the jaw. "_Shut up_" I hissed.

Blood spurt out of his mouth as he started to laugh, "You'll never win you know. She won't always be protected. _Hundreds_ of others want to end the Dragomir line and to carry around you're head as a badge of honor! When I kill you, I'll be worshipped like a hero! My master will be so proud!"

I had had enough of this loon. I wanted answers from him, like how he knew I was shadow kissed. But I never would know because my hand instinctively gripped my stake and rammed it into his blackened heart. His face went slack as the grey smoke in my fingers recoiled back into my hands and disappeared.

I felt a painful throbbing in my head as I stood up. It was then that I noticed my breathing as hitched and my heart was pounding roughly against my chest. My mind was a jumbled mess of questions and thoughts.

How did this strigoi know so much about me? And why were there so many out here together? And what the hell did I just do! I'm starting to think that _maybe_ I wasn't hallucinating anymore. I saw shadows earlier when my vision was red and I did have super strength and then that grey smoke attacked the strigoi like I was compelling it to. I remember the ghosts back at the cavern had a similar reaction to it too...

Maybe the spirit darkness that I siphoned from Lissa caused me to have shadow kissed side effects... I shook my head, I could worry over this later.

But one thought continued to echo loudly in my mind, it was what that tall strigoi had said_ ...you left her unprotected at the royal court. She's obviously not important to you... _So many emotions swirled in my mind. I had to stop being so stubborn. I need to confront my problems head on. And one of them being Lissa's safety. I hadn't checked on Lissa since I left. I kept the bond blocked out, but right now I needed to know that she was still alive.

I closed my eyes and gently checked the bond, and sure enough it was still there humming strong but every few seconds it would flicker and twinge. I noticed she was asleep, so I wasn't going to get much of an update on her at the moment. Which was weird, because if it's night right now in human time, it's part of the day for Moroi. What was Liss doing sleeping?

I immediate stopped my musing. I could worry over this later. She was alive and that was the most important thing on my list of things to do at the moment. Before I stepped out of the bond, I felt a thick covering of the darkness surrounding her side of it. I involuntarily took it from her, and the bond went back to it's normal hum without any flickering.

Satisfied, I pulled out completely and lifted my barriers back up over them, and as I did this my already pounding headache increased. I gritted my teeth together but managed. My jaw was still sore, but I just didn't care right now. I realized I didn't want to feel the bond for anything else, I didn't want to know her emotions or thoughts.

Because right at this moment I was consumed in all of my own emotions and thoughts. Remembering my hatred for how Lissa had betrayed me.

And that's when it suddenly clicked in my head. _What I was doing was idiotic and reckless. _Sure both Dimitri and Lissa pissed me off to no end, but me just suddenly disappearing wasn't helping my situation very much. If anything it just made things _worse. _By running off, I opened myself up to a guilt trip. Me leaving just caused them to pay attention long enough to pity me. And I was _not _someone's pity.

Regret illuminated my every thought and emotion. What I did was stupid. Sure I had a hell of a good time, but I had just made things worse. I was attracting more attention to myself, and my sole purpose in all of this was to attract the attention _away_ from me, not towards. I couldn't believe I just further fucked up my career and future all because of these two morons.

It was always these two. _Lissa and Dimitri._ They fueled my every reckless, crazy move. I was unknowingly manipulated by them. I was nothing but their mere 'sock puppet'. They would barking out orders to me, and me all too eager to please. All while they laughed it off behind my back. _I was the one being foolish._

I was going back to court. But I sure as hell wasn't doing it for _them. _I was going to start out in a new life _without them in it_. Tasha had once offered me to be her guardian, so why the hell not? She wasn't too bad. Plus she was kind of badass herself with the whole defensive magic thing.

With this newfound revelation, I turned to the six strigoi bodies before me and piled them all up into a heap. It was then that I noticed I didn't have anything on me to set them on fire. I grumbled to myself as I realized that even if I did have something to torch them with, I was currently out amongst humans. Someone was bound to see a blazing fire in the middle of the night and I sure as hell didn't want to have to explain to them why I was suddenly setting a pile of bodies on fire.

I dug my hand into my pant pocket and pulled out my cellphone, I knew just the person to fix this mess...

I stood silently behind a large tree, trying my best to stay awake. It had been almost an hour since I called Sydney where she told me she'd send someone out here to clean up the bodies. I decided to stay and stick around, hidden of course, to make sure there were no more strigoi lurching around that could attack the alchemists.

After the adrenaline of my fight had worn off, my slightly battered body had started to whine with aches and pains. Although I didn't sustain any major injuries in this fight, my body had still gone through a lot of physical strain in the past two hours.

Something it wasn't fully adapted to just yet after the past fews days of me practically doing no physical labor at all. I didn't know how much longer I could wait here until I collapsed in fatigue. Just then I heard the rustling of leaves as I saw someone approach the strigoi heap.

It was just one lone person, they had the golden tattoo on their cheek that all alchemists had and it glimmered as the moonlight shone down on it as the clouds cleared revealing the person's facial features. I sucked in a breath, I knew this person.

"Sydney?" I questioned as I emerged from my hiding place. She jumped a good foot off the ground as she clutched the cross necklace that was dangling from her neck.

I stepped closer to her as she flinched and said, "R-Rose? What are you doing out here? You told me on the phone you were in a hurry to leave."

"Well I decided to stick around until uh, that" I pointed to the pile of bodies, "was taken care of..." I trailed of as I noticed she produced a small glass bottle in her hands from her bag. She unscrewed the top and poured the bottle's contents over the pile. I heard a fizzing sound as a large black cloud covered over the heap.

After a few minutes, the cloud cleared away and there was nothing left of the bodies except for a pile of ashes. Alchemists were scary people with all their creepy potions... Swallowing, I cleared my throat, "And I could say the same for you, I thought you were in New Orleans."

She grimaced and quickly replied, "I had to run an errand for Mr. Mazur."

At the sound my father's name I grimaced too, "Ah, I see Zmey is behind this. Sydney whatever my father has on you, I swear I can try to make him see reason and leave you alone."

She put up a hand to stop me, "Rose believe me, even _you_ couldn't help my arrangement."

"Gee thanks, that makes me feel_ loads_ better. But whatever, I'll respect your privacy." At that she seemed relieved but her brow soon furrowed and she suddenly glanced back up to me.

"I know this isn't my place to mention this, but Rose you need to go back to court. I have a feeling you're not really on 'vacation leave'."

_Crap._ I knew she wasn't going to buy my story that I was simply on vacation before the Guardian Counsel assigned the newly graduated guardians to their charges.

I nodded my head in agreement, "Actually now that you mention it, I am heading back to court."

She gave me a skeptical look before she glanced down to her watch on her wrist. She seemed to be bothered by something as she glanced back up to me, "I really do hope that you mean that because Mr. Mazur is meeting me at the royal court in a few days. And I don't think he knows you're not there."

That made me a little on edge, what was Zmey up to sending Sydney all the way out here in Minnesota just to drag her over to Pennsylvania? I pulled out of my musing as Sydney picked up on my troubled mood.

"Look if anything else happens just call me again. And-" she pulled out her cellphone and scrolled through her contacts until she clicked on my name, "this is your current number right? Just in case I need to contact you?" she asked as she held the screen up for me to see. I nodded my head.

"Good, well if that's all you need me for I really do need to go." I knew that even if I wasn't a strigoi, she was still uncomfortable near any type of vampire. Even hybrids like me. I sighed, it wasn't her fault. She was brain washed by her nutcase religious freak 'superiors'.

"Yeah, thanks for the uh, help. Where are you parked? I'll at least escort you to your car." I didn't want her walking around in these woods alone.

"You don't have to do that, I've got a navigator..." she trailed off as she produced some tech device out of her bag.

I waved my hand, "Nice try. Now where are you parked?"...

After I walked Sydney to her car I went back to my hotel room, packed up and checked out. I left the hotel and drove to a nearby airport.

I ordered a plane ticket for Pennsylvania. I was hauling my own ass _willingly_ back to court. I was going to accept whatever penalties this 'vacation time' had caused me and I was going to own up to my badass reputation and become twice the guardian I already was.

Dimitri wanted me out of his life so I was going to do just that. But as for Lissa, some part of me still wanted to be her guardian. I secretly wanted things to go back to normal with us. But I just couldn't ignore how much she'd hurt me. So I came up with the plan to show her just how much she had screwed up.

I decided I was going to try to get a charge _other than Lissa_. Maybe I was being petty but all I wanted to do now was forget the demons of my past. I wanted time to just forget. And most importantly, it was time for me to move on.

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A/N: Review! The reviews are my favorite part of writing this story, it encourages me to write more and to make improvements. after all, i want you guys to have the best experience in this little world of mine that i get to share with you.

: )

~Fabulous


	11. Hitman

A/N: Hello lovely readers! ; ) I'm excited about this chapter. Similar events that happen in the books happen in my story too, just not in the way you'd think they would. The letter from Tatiana in this chapter I copied straight from "Spirit Bound" so **credit goes out to the amazing Richelle Mead. **Everything else is of my own twisted doing. Enjoy!

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**Saturday night**

**RPOV **

_My movements were quick and steady, but he successfully dodged each one. I was starting to get frustrated, we'd been at this for fifteen minutes and none of us had been able to land a single blow on the other. _

_We knew each other's moves too well. Our attraction wasn't helping much either, we were physically linked-automatically tuned to one another's movements. And now in this fraction of time, I didn't want to practice with him in this way, I wanted something __else__._

_I faked left and sent a blow to his ribs, I had finally caught him off guard. I took the chance and tackled him to the gym's floor. And just before he went in for a defensive move, I seductively ran my hands up his torso. His struggles ceased as he shuddered from the sensation._

_I stopped at his chest and made a staking gesture over his heart. "You're dead." I purred and before he could say anything in response, I crashed my lips to his. I was expecting him to pull away, but he didn't. Instead, he wrapped his arms around me and passionately kissed me back. _

_My head was swirling but in a good way. He was so skilled with his mouth on mine. Outside of our practice sessions, he always wore a stern mask and constantly took everything seriously. No one hardly ever saw him loosen up. _

_He was well respected by other guardians, struck fear into the strigoi he fought and his fighting style was an elegant mix of authority and lethal talent. But around me, none of that mattered. He would let all his guards down. _

_And now, with his lips caressing mine, I could feel his intimidating exterior dissolve away as he relaxed. His lips were gentle and soft, yet they held so much heat and power and I couldn't get enough. _

_I reluctantly pulled back gasping for breath, and he just continued his sensual kisses down my neck to my collarbone and back up to my ear. In a husky voice he whispered "I love you", and gave a quick peck just behind my ear before pulling back to gaze at me. _

_His eyes radiated with warmth, happiness and love. I was overjoyed to see him so carefree in this moment. I slid my fingers into his silky brown hair, staring back at him with a goofy smile plastered on my face as I replied, "Love you too Comrade". He gave me one of his breath taking smiles in response and attacked my lips once more. One of his hands that had been resting on my hips, slowly slid it's way up my spine. I sighed in pleasure as he sent tingling electrical currents into everyone of my nerves endings with his touch. _

_Heat...Passion...Lust...Love..._

_Whatever you wanted to called it, was the only thing that my heart was beating for in this moment. _

My eyes popped open and I gasped. My hands felt numb so I glanced down in my seat to find that I had been clutching the armrests in a vice grip. I abruptly let go and a tingling rush swirled around my palms as the blood flow returned. I glanced around my aisle in the plane to see if I startled anyone. Thankfully I hadn't, everyone was fast asleep seeing as it was late at night.

I forced myself to calm my breathing as I tried to collect my thoughts. It had all just been a dream. Dimitri and I used to have similar moments like that back at the academy when we were in love.

As much as it killed me to admit this, I still loved him. And right now after a dream like that, I couldn't help but miss him. I couldn't stop the whimper that escaped my mouth from the thought. I _longed_ to feel his warm skin against mine and just breathe him in...

I immediately scrubbed the thought out of my mind. I refuse to waste another thought or second on _him. _I was moving on, _he_ was my past now, it's time for me to forget...

The plane landed an hour later, and I'm now currently scanning the enormous parking lot. I'm still reluctant to waste my money on a rental car, so I'm searching for a vehicle to "borrow". My eyes finally settled on a shiny deep ocean blue coupe. I started walking up to it and the closer I got the more my pulse started to accelerate.

My eyes glazed over in lust as I ran my fingers over the hood. It was a Maserati GranTurismo. I felt my mouth water from just thinking the name. I read about these cars once in a magazine Mason practically slept with. He would go on and on for hours about how epic these italian cars were.

My stomach gave a sharp twinge from the memory of my good friend. If Mase were here, I knew he would of basically gotten down on all fours and start to worship this metal beast. So in honor of my late friend, I was going to take it out for a nice workout that it's so desperately begging me to do...

To say I'm in love with this car is an understatement. This by far has been the most invigorating experience I've had on this trip. It felt right to drive this breathtaking car in celebration of the end of my vacation. After driving around for a bit, I settled on staying overnight at a hotel a few miles outside of court. I had drifted in and out of sleep during my flight, but my body was sluggish from the lack of rest. So I decided to have one last goodnight's sleep before returning back to hell- er, I mean _the royal court. _

I took a long hot shower and ordered room service. When my food came I was given a skeptical look my the man delivering it. I ended up ordering four different dinners and demanded to have a plate of one dozen chocolate glazed donuts. But hey, it was my last night of freedom and I wanted to take advantage of _every_ indulgence.

I think he thought one lone person especially a _girl_ couldn't devour this pile of yumminess in one sitting, but he was _so _wrong.

I was still recovering from my injured jaw, but I was capable of eating solid food now. So after an hour of feasting on every square inch of the plates before me, they became licked clean. I hadn't eaten much in the past few days so I was _hungry. _And just now I made up on all those lost meals.

I wobbled over to the bed and flopped myself down, I let out a peaceful sigh as I rubbed my belly in contentment. My eyelids started to droop down, but there was one last thing I had to do to complete this perfect moment. Check on Lissa.

I promised myself I wouldn't play nice with her after she hurt me so badly, but I just couldn't bring myself to ignore her anymore. So the compromise was to open myself back up to the bond to make sure she was fine. But I still haven't forgiven her. I was just going to keep tabs on her until I eventually do.

I let my eyelids close as I removed my barriers. And the moment they were completely lifted I was sucked into her head. I immediately regretted doing this because what I saw or _rather what she was experiencing _was horrifying-something that would most likely cause me to have permanent brain damage.

Somehow during my little 'leave of absence', Lissa had gotten back together with Christian. And right now it seemed they were reconnecting in _every way _possible. I knew I had to get myself out of her head because the last thing I wanted to see on my last night of vacation was Pyro's repulsive naked body.

With as must strength as I could muster, I pried myself out of Lissa's head. I didn't put my barriers back up but I managed to block her out. My head started throbbing from the mental encounter. Maybe ignoring Lissa was going to be harder than I thought...

**Assassin lurking within the Royal Estate **

Do you know that there's practically no place the royal queen can be left alone unless heavily secured by guardians? Everywhere, there's security. Her office, private jet, house, cars, garden, _even her bed chamber._ Well, unless she has _company. _But even then, she has guards stationed outside her bedroom door! But that seems pretty obvious though right? She _is _after all the _Queen_ of our people.

But there is one place our dear queen can go where she is left _completely alone_ in private. And that's where I am at the moment. At first, I thought it was going to be impossible to gain access to this place, but over the past two hours, I've learned I can be _very_ persuasive in getting the things I want.

I stood very still behind the shower curtains. My hand was gripping the stake so tightly my knuckles had turned stark white and a thick throbbing pulse had formed in the center of my palm. My breathing was very slow and calculating. I _needed_ to be _very_ quiet.

I could feel my heart pumping roughly against my chest. I tried my best to slow down my heartbeats, but it was a lost cause. It was the only thing than reminded me of my guilty conscience of what I was doing. It was the only thread that tied me to my old self. The woman who _wasn't a murderer. _

But I had _no choice._ This task that lies before me was a sacrifice I was willing to make if it meant protecting the ones I love.

I stiffened as I heard the doorknob to the room jostle and then a soft creek as the door swung open. My heart skipped a beat and froze as the door gently closed and I heard the click of the lock being turned.

I heard her cough slightly as she moved farther into the room where I was hidden. An icy, sharp coil thrashed in the pit of my stomach. It was a tiny moment where I relished in the featherlight option of hesitation. This was where I could _choose_ my fate as well as the other woman's in this room.

But that little coil immediately dissolved away as the dark fog emerged from it's hidden cove deep in my mind where it tugged and urged me on. I could almost _taste _her breath from how close she was getting. I braced myself as I sensed her arm lift upward towards the light switch.

The next five seconds will always be permanently burned into my memories. The moment her finger flicked the switch, my free arm swatted the shower curtain away. I heard Tatiana's sharp intake of breath right before I plunged the stake deep within her chest, striking the heart. My movement was clean, quick, and packed with force.

I watched her eyes widen as her recognized my face. I grinned widely, baring my fangs as I secured my hands firmly over her throat. Silver stakes didn't kill Moroi right away, but suffocation certainly would. She grasped my arms, desperately trying to free herself, but the damage was done. Her body sagged down to the marble floor as I continued to choke her. And as her grip on me loosened and her eyelids began to flutter down, I couldn't help but flinch from the feeling of regret that fired through every one of my nerve endings.

I was now a monster...

**Sunday Morning **

**RPOV**

I checked out of the hotel early and went to a little coffee shop for breakfast. Seeing as I was still on a human schedule, it was sunny and bright outside. Relishing in being in the sun for a little while longer, I decided to eat outside in the patio area of the restaurant.

I closed my eyes briefly, soaking up the warmth. Despite the growing pulse from my barriers set up against the ghosts, I felt completely relaxed. After opening myself back up to the bond with Lissa, I was expecting to feel nervous, jittery, or even on edge. But aside from almost watching a porno starring _Fire-crotch_, I felt the complete opposite. It felt _good_ to be able to feel her again. To know she was okay and safe.

But that didn't fix the problems I had with her. I stilled loved her, but that didn't suddenly make things right. I was sick and tired of her always taking me for granted. Constantly and completely negligent to my feelings and wants. I hope after I return and shut her out of my life for awhile, she'll learn to understand and appreciate me better. I brushed the thought aside though, for now I wanted to enjoy my last remaining moments of bliss.

I had just taken a sip of my coffee before I was abruptly sucked into Lissa's head _again_._ Damn it! Can I never get a peaceful moment? _I thought bitterly before I was engulfed by her emotions. They were all over the place: shock, anger, worry and determination were the most dominate ones. I searched her memory to see the cause of this outburst but I stopped when I saw the flyer she was staring at.

It was taped to the door of one of the court's many conference rooms. In bold letters it read:

WANTED CRIMINAL: ROSEMARIE HATHAWAY

Suspect Warranted for High Treason. Accused murderer of the late Queen Tatiana Ivashkov. Reward granted to the capture of Hathaway.

And to top it off they had a very unflattering picture of me blown up so that it fit most of the page and I had a menacing glint to my features. Obviously this photo had been taken when someone had pissed me off.

I was convinced this was just some kind of sick joke. Because honestly, at times I did hate the old Queen bitch. But kill her? I would never go to that extreme. So it came to me as a shock when Lissa's feelings weren't that of being annoyed by someone's humor. These were her genuine pure emotions. And that's when I started to panic.

But no sooner had I came to that realization, I was kicked out of Lissa's head. I tried to slip back in, but I couldn't get through. Why was Lissa blocking me out? _Oh crap. This is real._ I thought. Because why else would she suddenly block me out?

The idiots at court really think I'm an assassin? Strigoi killer sure, but royal murderer? That's ridiculous! My breathing started to become ragged, I was overreacting. It was right at that moment I noticed a form standing in front of me.

It was a young boy about eight years old,human, with hazel eyes and brown hair. He gave me a confused look but asked, "Are you Rose Hathaway?"

Could the news of me being a murderer run so fast and deep that even the human world would be notified? I knew I was crazy to believe any of this nonsense, but either way I put on a poker face.

I wore a nonchalant expression and flicked my hair as I replied, "What's it to you?"

The boy furrowed his brows and muttered, "He said you'd say that. Here." He extended his arm out that was holding a letter. I hesitantly look the letter, and no sooner had I touched the note, the boy turned on his heel and ran off through the ally that was adjacent to the restaurant.

I glared at his retreating figure and examined the note. My name was sprawled across the front in an elegant cursive. I looked up from my table and scanned the area looking to see if anyone was watching me, but nothing came up suspicious. I opened the letter and read it quickly:

_Rose, _

_If you're reading this, then something terrible has happened. You probably hate me, and I don't blame you. I can only ask that you trust that what I did with the age decree was better for your people than what others had planned. There are some Moroi who want to force _all _dhampirs into service, whether they want it or not, by using compulsion. The age decree has slowed that faction down._

_However, I write to you with a secret you must put right, and it is a secret you must share with as few as possible. Vasilisa needs her spot on the Council, and it can be done. She is not the last Dragomir. Another lives, the illegitimate child of Eric Dragomir. I know nothing else, but if you can find this son or daughter, you will give Vasilisa the power she deserves. No matter your faults and dangerous temperament, you are the only one I feel can take on this task. Waste no time in fulfilling it. _

_-Tatiana Ivashkov_

After my initiation scan of the document I read it again more slowly and tried to make sense of it. I was in utter disbelief. First, people think _I_ killed the queen, and now I'm getting a mysterious letter from the supposed "dead" queen, saying she _knew_ something was going to happen to her _and_ Lissa has some random illegitimate sibling roaming this earth? Well that's just wonderful!

I'm starting to think I'm still in my hotel room asleep and this is just all a weird dream. Before I could continue my musing my waiter came out with my order, but as he got closer I noticed something was off about him. But what? He placed my food down on the table and as he leaned forward I noticed a gun wedged in between his order notepad in his apron pocket. That's odd, I thought. Since when do human waiters carry firearms about at work?

One hand was lowering my plate to the table and the other was reaching into the apron pocket where his hand clutched onto the handle. The next few movements happened within the span of seconds. I pushed my chair away from the table as he cocked the revolver and swiftly pulled the gun out of it's hiding place and pointed it towards my heart. But my dhampir reflexes reacted quicker.

I jumped out of the chair while my right arm knocked into the hand with the gun successfully deflecting it's intended target. But just as I had swatted the gun away the trigger was pulled. The bullet went flying across the street where it collided with a parking meter and shattered the glass while it made a loud clanking sound as it squished into the steel backing.

In that moment of distraction, I punched the waiter across the jaw and kicked him in the gut. He stumbled backwards where his back smashed through the coffee shops' glass window and he fell through. I took that as my cue and ran as fast as my legs could take me to the Maserati where I hopped in and sped away from the scene.

The car snarled as I weaved my way through residential housing where I knew would be the best short cut to the interstate to be left undetected and unseen. The last thing I needed was to grab the attention of human authorities. I could handle them, but I need to get as far away from this place as possible.

I let out the breath I was holding as the car turned onto the merging ramp to the interstate. After ten minutes of driving I was satisfied I had put up enough distance between me and the shop where I could collect my thoughts and try to make sense of what just happened. A human tried shooting me. _Why? _

I jumped as my phone vibrated in my pocket. I clumsily grabbed it and with a shaky breath answered, "H-hello?"

"Rose!", yelped Sydney's voice. "Where are you? Whatever you do, DON'T go back to court. Something's happened and you're in danger!"

Well this conversation was going to be interesting...

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A/N: Go on and push that review button already, you know you want to...

; )

ps- link to the car mentioned in this chapter is on my profile!

~Fabulous


	12. Enemies and Allies

A/N: Well hello there! So sorry I haven't updated in so long, but school's been hectic. But _finally_ I'm on spring break so I have lots of free time now to write, speaking of which I've written a one-shot for the VA series called **Uncontrollable. ** It's set after Last Sacrifice, just some random Rose&Dimitri fluff. So check it out if you're in the mood for some russian lovin' but I must warn you, it has a lemon. But it's marked in the 2nd chapter just incase you're not into that kind of stuff. If you like it, review and tell me if I should continue it into another story and if you have any requests on what I should write about.

This story however is first and foremost my priority. I actually have a plot line for this and lots more crazy ideas. So my focus is to spend more time on this story for the time being.

On a lighter note, is anyone a fan of the TV series_ Being Human_ (North American version)? If you are, wasn't the season finale epic!(and also sad...) But I'm so pumped for season 2...

Okay with all my babbling aside, I give you a brand spankin' new chapter. The beginning of this is a continuation of the coffee shop scene. Something I forgot to add in the last chapter. Everything else is Rose in the present time. Enjoy!

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**Man waiting in the dark alley **

I stood watching as the boy gave Rose the note. She wore a skeptical expression on her face and scanned the area as the boy bolted off to where I was hiding. My back stiffened as I slowly backed myself further into the protection of the darkness. Rose couldn't know I was here or that I've been tracking her.

I watched as she opened the letter and began reading it. I wanted so badly to help her but I couldn't do anything more. Her fate was in her own hands now. Tatiana had given me strict orders of what to do about her and a list of tasks I had to now complete back at court.

My stomach churned uncomfortably just thinking of her. I knew me and Tatiana had our good times together but I always had more feelings about her than what I led on. I loved her and now she was _gone. _My chest ached remembering the crime scene. Seeing her bloody body, lifeless and cold... I shuddered, our lives we going fine until the day my aunt had that premonition and everything started to change.

I never really bought into her tarot card readings or odd wisdom before, but now I was completely convinced she truly had a gift. Dreaming about the death of the queen and Rose being framed wasn't really so much a coincidence as it was a warning-

"Hey mister, did you hear me?" the young boy asked pulling me out of my thoughts. I jumped, I didn't realize he was so close to me. I looked down at his small frame, he reminded me so much of my little brother... I shook my head. I needed to get out of here before I was seen.

"Here", I said handing him the one-hundred dollar bill that was crumbled in my sweaty hand. "Thanks for your help. Now go back to your mother before she notices you're gone."

He greedily took the bill with a huge grin on his face. He turned to leave skipping back to the book store down the street where I had found him. Children were always so innocent and trusting and I couldn't help but feel infuriated with their parents. I knew if the situation had been different with someone who was sick minded they could of easily dragged that boy into this ally did god only knows what. You'd think the saying "Say no to strangers" would be more strict out in the human world, but obviously not...

I chastised myself for getting so worked up over this. But I guess the stress of the past week is starting to gnaw at my mental state. I pulled a baseball cap over my head and slipped on a pair of large dark shades as I emerged from the alleyway. Rose was transfixed by the note so I hurried down the sidewalk to my car.

But as I walked past the book store I noticed the small boy standing outside with tears streaming down his cheeks. I muttered under my breath, removed my glasses and bent down to his level. "Hey little man, you can't find your mom?" I asked kindly. I glanced over to the store windows to see if I could see her. I remember what she looked like but as I scanned the store her face didn't come up.

"S-she not t-there..." the boy choked out.

"Hey hey, it's okay. We'll find her. Did you tell the nice lady at the desk you were lost?" I soothed. He shook his head as his body started to tremble.

"Okay, well let's go inside and talk to her." I held out my hand to him as I stood up.

"NO!" he all but scream. I flinched, _yeah NOW he starts getting wary around strangers... _ I mentally retorted.

I sighed, "Come on. It's okay." I tugged his small arm towards the door.

"N-no! You can't go inside! Y-you have to g-go t-there!" he protested as he jerked his arm away from me and pointed to a dimly lit area outside of the store.

I rolled my eyes in exasperation. I should have never gotten him involved with me. I was pressed for time. I was about to just pick him up and drag him into the store when I caught a glimpse of him making a run for it, his short frame had taken off on a sprint to the area he had pointed to. I cursed under my breath as I went after him.

He lurched to a stop just a foot away from the area and I all but crashed into him. As I managed to catch my footing I noticed his face had paled a few shades and he was staring straight ahead at something in the alley. I followed his gaze and suddenly sucked in a sharp breath. A woman's body lay limp and battered on the asphalt ground. Her face was frozen in a mask of fear. There was two deep puncture marks on the side of her neck where blood was oozing out. I knew who this was.

"Mommy!" the boy shouted as he charged towards her. I tried to stop him but he was just too damn quick. The moment he pasted the dark shadow of the alleyway, white hands emerged from the darkness and wrapped themselves around his neck and with a quick 'snap' his body went limb and the hands released him where he was tossed over to his mother's dead body.

"NO!" I shouted as I stupidly ran into the alley. I didn't understand what just happened. But I sure as hell was going to find out. I didn't have any weapons on me but I just couldn't let whoever was in there get away with what they'd just done.

An icy cold arm jerked me into the shadows at an inhuman speed. My old guardian training kicked in as I sent a blow to my attacker's chest. They didn't falter one bit and I distantly wondered how their chest was so rock hard.

A chilling laugh filled the silence as I received a forceful hit to my stomach where I stumbled backwards and was pushed up against a brick wall. In that moment I suddenly realized that this attacker wasn't human. It was a strigoi.

I was about to go into for another defensive move when I was pinned to the wall. One hand was clutching my throat while the other restrained my hands. "I wouldn't try anything else if I were you..." a menacing voice said.

My vision started to focus in the dark area and I could hardly just make out the shape of a woman that was holding me down. She was wearing a heavy hoodie and it masked her face. But from what I could see she had long wavy amber colored hair that peaked out from the her sweatshirt. I struggled against her hold but to no avail I didn't make any progress of being freed.

She let out a low growl as she said, "What information did that letter contain that you gave to Rose?"

I was shocked, how did she know about the note or Rose for that matter? But I didn't let her intimidate me, I spat in her direction in response.

Her grip on my neck intensified as she dragged me over to the alley's exit. She released my throat and ripped off my cap where she gripped onto my hair and jerked my head to look at where Rose was sitting, I struggled against her but the woman restrained me and whispered in my ear icily, "You're running out of time blood whore," I noticed then that the waiter that was serving rose had a gun. I gasped. "Tell me what that letter said and I'll have her killed quickly..."

I scoffed at that, _I _didn't even know what the letter said. "Sorry I can't help you..." I cooly replied as I hooked my foot around her ankle and gave a quick jerk. Her grip on me loosened and I ripped myself out of her hold and dashed to the safety of the sun lit sidewalk. It was at that moment I saw the waiter pull the gun on Rose, put she reacted quicker by deflecting his target. At the same time I heard the gun shoot, strong arms encircled my waist and I was dragged back into to the alley. I barely caught a glimpse of Rose punching her hitman as I was pushed against the wall again.

My vision blurred as I heard the woman snarl "If you won't tell me willingly, I'll have to force it out of you..." And with that said I felt sharp fangs bite down on my jugular and I was lost in a sea of endorphins...

**RPOV**

"I just can't believe something like this could happen. Especially in such a public place with so many witnesses..." she said.

"I know!" I shrieked in exasperation as Sydney tried taking in the news I just told her. We were currently sitting at a booth in a small restaurant in Ohio. "Who knew your race had waitressing hitmen!" She grimaced obviously not finding my humor amusing.

"Oh come on, don't you see the irony in all of this? If you're going to be a hitman why not at least have a badass cover career to go with it? Like a fitness instructor, stunt driver or even a delivery guy like in the movie _The Transporter _or... oh! A male model! That'd be hot..."

"Rose! You need to take this seriously!" Sydney shouted. I was shocked to see her so upset. I didn't want to anger her but humor was the only way for me to cope with what's going on. "Do you know the penalty for high treason?" She asked heatedly.

My mood faulted "Well, no..."

"It's death!" she cut in.

That got my attention. "W-what?" my voiced cracked.

"Rose, you're on a warrant list. If a guardian spots you out here, they won't hesitate in killing you. And by any method possible, that includes guns..." she pointed out.

I couldn't block the fear that consumed me. They couldn't do that! Guns were cheating. _Shit_. I mentally cursed, if they really wanted to kill me, they didn't even have to be in a close range to do it...

"Sydney, for all intent and purposes, I going to change my appearance right now." I said locking gazes with her seriously.

She arched an eyebrow in response. Why am I the only one who can't do that? I stuffed my hand into one of the duffle bag pockets and pulled out Lissa's charmed bracelet.

I held it up to the light so she could see and then I slipped it on.

She gasped as the magic did it's job. She involuntarily clutched her cross neckless and glanced around to see if anyone had noticed my magician act.

"_How?_" I heard her whisper to herself. She cleared her throat as she leaned in and squinted her eyes, "Rose, it that you?" she asked skeptically...

"Sydney, I really don't need you getting weird with me right now. Here..." I handed her Tatiana's note. After I calmed down from my scuffle with the waiter I started to think of what I was going to do in this situation. For one I really needed to find the real murderer of the queen, but at the same time I have to fulfill the quest Tatiana bestowed upon me. I was still pissed at Lissa but if she had a secret sibling somewhere, she deserved to know about them. Plus if she had another living family member, that meant she could vote with the council maybe even change the age decree.

My head ached remembering the stupid decree, but a small ray of hope started to grow in my mind. If Lissa had voting power that means she could make such a difference in our world. No matter her faults, deep down she was a good person and natural leader.

My stubbornness protested against this idea of helping her but she was like a sister to me. And I knew in the back of my mind, if there was anything I could ever do to help her I would always do it. Because that's what family does, no matter how much they upset you, at the end of the day they're still your family. So I decided this would be my last sacrifice for her. I was going to find her sibling and give her the power she needed, _but_ after that I was done with her. Or at least for awhile. I still had myself to deal with in all of this and I wanted my space to work things out.

With shaky fingers Sydney took the note from me, "Do you think it's really from her? I mean, anybody can forge a signature..."

She scoffed under her breath as she ignored my last comment. Her eyes scrutinized every square inch of the letter. After a few minutes she replied, "It looks to be real, but I'll check the archives just to be sure."

"Who do you think could be Eric's mistress? I mean I would have _never_ thought he'd be the type to do that to his family, but I guess anything's possible these days. You mentioned he had a secret bank account in Vegas, do you know anything else about this 'Jane Doe'?"

She frowned. "No, like I said before she was hard to track..."

I could feel my stress increase hearing her admit that. "However, I think she's your lead. It makes sense. If he really does have an illegitimate child, she's your best bet to start looking."

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you even agree to meet me here. You're taking this all so calmly. Why do you believe I'm not the real killer?" I was afraid of asking her all this but I had to know once and for all what her intentions were.

She put down the letter and let out a deep sigh. "I know you couldn't of possibly did it. Look at this." she turned her laptop that was on the table around for me to see as she opened up a file and clicked on a picture. As it was enlarged and I gasped from what I saw. It was a crime scene photo of Tatiana's murder. Her white night gown was soaked in blood and then I saw a metal object sticking out of her chest. "Is that a-"

"Stake." Sydney cut in. " Yes. But look more closely..." she then zoomed in on the stake and my eyes widened in fear. It wasn't just any old stake. It was _my_ stake. The one I had lost last week.

I was so shocked, I was at a loss for words.

"You see, the engravings on it match your stake..." Sydney went on. "_However, _I just saw you the other day. Even if you immediately took a flight after talking to me and then drove directly to the court from the airport, by that time the murder had already occurred. You. Weren't. There. So that's when I knew something was up. And Rose..." she gently placed her hand over my balled fist that was on the table, "Even if you were there in time I know you didn't do it. You're not like that and-"

"What?" I abruptly asked.

She removed her hand and eyed me levelly, "This goes against my better judgement, but I trust you. And although we keep meeting under tense circumstances. I consider you a friend."

I felt touched. Getting an alchemist to trust a vampire was one thing but to actually consider a dhampir like me a friend was really saying something.

I smiled at that, "You're really going to help me?"

She gave me a half grin, "Well, I'm already aiding and harboring a fugitive sitting here with you, so I don't really have a choice now do I? Besides," she lowered her voice, "right now _you're not really Rose Hathaway."_

I forgot for a moment that I was still wearing the charmed bracelet. I felt comforted knowing I had a disguise and someone was willing to risk helping me. I had a newfound respect for Sydney.

She turned her laptop back over to her side of the booth and glanced at the note again. "We're going to have to create a fake name for you..." she muttered as she started typing away. "And I'll need your cellphone and bank information. I need to set up a new account and number for you that's untraceable."

My eyebrows lifted in surprise, she wasn't one to waste time. I let out a breath, we had a hard night ahead of us.

As we started compiling my new identity, a thought crossed my mind. If the queen was really dead, she could confirm her note and maybe give me information on who her real killer was.

"Sydney we have to leave now," I quickly said. She stopped what she was working on and glanced up at me. "Why?" there was a bit of alarm in her voice.

"I think I can find the real queen's killer. And they might know more about Eric."

"How?" she asked as her face scrunched up in deep thought trying to figure out where I was going with this.

"I'm going to interrogate a ghost." I simply stated. I spared a quick glance at her now bewildered expression before jumping out of the booth, throwing a few bills on the table and leaving the restaurant.

I couldn't believe I didn't think of this any sooner. I just wasted the last few hours brooding over these new facts when I could just ask the source for the truth. Or well, at least _try_ to.

"Hey wait up!" Sydney shouted to me as I briskly walked across the parking lot and over to the black Jaguar XFR that I'd recently stolen.

I waited by the car as Sydney scrambled over to where I was. A little out of breath she hissed, "You have got to _stop_ stealing cars Rose. You can't cause anymore attention to yourself."

I rolled my eyes, "I was improvising..."

"Well it's going to stop from now on. We're taking my car." she snapped as she pointed towards a new Honda CR-V.

"You really don't have any nicer cars than that?" I stated dryly. After the vehicles I've driven over the past week. I was starting to get picky.

"Hey, it's that or nothing and you can go on this quest on your _own_." she quipped back.

I let out a sigh, "Fine." I suddenly locked gazes with her. "Don't freak out okay?"

She gave me a confused expression "Wait, what did you mean earlier about some kind of interrogation?" she hastily asked.

"I can see and speak to ghosts." I quickly explained.

"_What? _Rose you can't be serious..." I tuned out the rest of her banter. I didn't have the patience to answer her now.

I closed my eyes and focused on my mental barriers against the ghosts. I slowly lifted them and the moment they were removed, I doubled over in pain as my head was lit on fire. I groaned trying to fight it off.

"Rose..." I distantly heard Sydney say.

I bit down on my bottom lip as I lifted myself back up and wearily opened my eyes. Every where I looked I saw ghosts. Transparent and angry. A painful throbbing started to pulse against my skull as I stared them down. _Go away._ I commanded in my mind. The throbbing increased but they slowly started to disappear.

I then focused on searching for Tatiana._ Come to me. _I whispered. The throbbing was almost unbearable but very slowly an image appeared right in front of me.

Like some of the ghosts back at the caves, she flickered unstably. Like she was a channel on a TV with a crappy cable connection. I sucked in a sharp breath. She wore a white robe stained in blood, she had a sad almost tormented look on her face yet the crown that was sitting on her head still made her look regal. I frowned. My worst fear was confirmed seeing this dead woman before me. I really had been framed.

She bore her troubled eyes into mine and I felt a shiver rack my spine. She was trying to send a message to me but I just didn't know what it was.

I adverted my gaze to Sydney where she was giving me one of those 'Rose is crazy' looks that I knew all too well from my time spent at the academy.

"Give me the note." I told her in a stern voice. Her facial expression quivered for a moment, but she soon complied, handing me the note.

You'd think after she spends all her time watching, working for and covering the tracks of so called mystical creatures, she'd be more open about me seeing ghosts but apparently that wasn't the case.

I turned back to Tatiana, "Did you write this?" I asked her.

Very slowly she nodded her head. "So Lissa really has another sibling?" she just stared at me and once again I felt a chill crawl across my back. Again I sensed she was trying to send me a message, one I just couldn't understand.

"Do you know who murdered you?" I asked warily. She gazed at me for awhile but eventually gave me a slight nod of her head. It seemed she was starting to fade away. My pulse quickened I needed to know more.

My stomach churned as I ask my next question. "Do I know them?"

She opened her mouth to talk but nothing came out. Her translucent form started to twinge more often and I now could barely make out her silhouette.

Suddenly I felt a cold breeze swirl around in my head as I heard in a very low whisper almost barely audible the word "_Yes."_

And that was the last I saw of Tatiana's ghost...

I stood there in the dark parking lot dazed for a long time. Too stunned to do anything else but just stand and breathe deeply. Someone I knew had set me up. I had an enemy than I _knew. _ I started to wonder why my life was now going so wrong. First it was Lissa and Dimitri but now I've been wrongly accused of murdering the royal queen all while the real murderer is out there and I'm left to fix all the problems.

I felt crushed beyond belief. I felt so alone and betrayed. My hope of a new life was now nonexistent. I was lucky if I will even live to see next week seeing as I'm now a fugitive on the run.

I felt a sharp pain in my chest and I involuntarily whimpered. I flinched as a hand was gently placed on my shoulder.

"Hey are you alright?" Sydney asked me. Concern was written all over her face.

I stared into her light brown eyes and it was at that moment I realized I wasn't alone. I did have help and most likely other friends or people that would be willing to help me.

I gave her a genuine smile to which she returned but her eyes still radiated with confusion and unease over my ghost encounter. Right now I probably did look crazy talking to blank space in front of me. I realized I'm going to have to explain to her that I was shadow kissed. And hopefully then she'd understand why I was suddenly claiming I could communicate with the restless dead. "Yeah, I'm okay. But I have more thing I have to do." I pulled away from her now with a burning determination. There was one other ghost I needed to question. Someone I knew from my childhood and someone whose ghost I had seen once on a plane. Eric. Dragomir.

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A/N: Okay, if you haven't guessed it by now, I'm a HUGE car geek. So obviously, Rose isn't going to be driving any, eh hem _hondas..._ Seriously what better way to appreciate hot, fast cars then ones stolen from a badass dhampir? Am I right? ; ) okay, I think I've had too much caffeine today and it's still charging me up, soo just incase I start going on a two page rant of all the cars I _want_ to write about, I'm going to stop here. I'll post a link for the Jaguar that was mentioned in my profile...

Review!

~Fabulous


	13. Breaking Point

A/N: Hey! So this chapter's shorter than the others, but finals are coming up for school so this is all I'm able to write at the moment. I'll update again sometime this week maybe with a longer chapter but after that I'm unsure of when I'll be able to update next. So bare with me for the time being and enjoy!

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DPOV

"Put your back into it!"

I grunted in response to the annoying voice that called down to me. I jammed the shovel deeper into the tough earth, rammed my heel down on the metal end and pulled the shovel up. I then tossed the pile of hardened dirt towards the voice that was annoying me.

"Hey man don't get pissy with me! Hans gave me a long list of chores for you to do and at the rate you're going, I'll be 60 by the time they're all done." Daniil argued back to me.

It was late at night moroi time and I was currently digging in the royal court's large cemetery . It was ironic really that I was given the job of a grave digger. The moment I found out Roza was gone, I wanted nothing more than to bolt from this place, taking down whomever got in my way, and search for her.

But at the same time I was thinking of this, Guardian Croft pulled me back into reality as he told me he believed I truly was a dhampir again. I was somewhat relieved of the good news but I was more worried about Rose.

He then proposed a proposition to me, I was to be given various tasks around the court to complete, community service work to be exact. He said whether people were yet to believe I had been restored was something entirely different, but I could at least be put to good use seeing as I spend so much of my time in the gym or track. Stating if I was capable of physical training, I was more than capable of manual labor.

The Queen and Moroi counsel recently passed a law stating that in the event that something happened like my case-I was to continue to have five escorts, put through more tests, and free to live and work at the court, however I was not granted permission to leave.

I was sentenced to a one year's probationary period and at the end of the term, a report would be summited that would state if I was indeed restored to my original self, and not a threat. If I was condemned to be a threat, I would to be sent to Tarasov for a life's sentence of solitude. But if I was proved to be a dhampir again, at that time I would be given permission to apply to the guardian counsel to obtain my former guardian title back and return to active duty.

I was astounded by all of this. There were many members of the Moroi counsel that continued to claim I was still a strigoi. It all seemed very suspicious, but I wasn't going to argue it. Because unfortunately the law also stated if I broke my probation and left the court, I was to be executed immediately without question. THAT part sounded more like the counsel's decision than the Queen's.

But with all that good news, I still wanted nothing more than to leave and find Roza. But Daniil convinced me to stay. After my meeting with Guardian Croft, he pulled me aside...

"_Dude I can see what you're already planning. It won't work. They'll shoot you without hesitation at the first sign of retaliation." _

"_But I have to find Rose. I __**need to**__..." I trailed off, too worried to speak anymore. _

"_I'm getting the feeling you love this girl, don't you. Guardian Hathaway?"_

_I just stared back at him with pain filled eyes. He caught onto the words I couldn't say aloud. _

"_Hm, right. And telling her you didn't helps this situation so much more." he sarcastically replied back. _

_I opened my mouth to speak but Daniil cut me off._

"_Okay, say that you're still crazy for her. Running out of here and searching for her now isn't going to do you any good." I was outraged and he could see it in my eyes so he quickly continued. _

"_Not yet that is. Give them time to collect more evidence and find leads. She's a pretty damn good guardian and It'd be a real waste to lose her. The queen is even supervising the search. But let. them. do. their. jobs." I started to move away from him, I had enough of this nonsense. But he gripped my shoulder quickly and I froze at his next words. Because they were in Russian..._

"_I'll find out all that I can but in the mean time, be cool about this. If she's out there somewhere do really think she'll be happy if you become truly dead this time?" I scoffed at that. After the way I've treated her, she'd be doing cartwheels over my grave. "Stay here for now until there's more news. We'll find her. I give you my word."_

_I stared back at him, Daniil just agreed to help me. But how long could I keep this facade up? I knew if I didn't find out more evidence soon, I was going to leave no matter the consequences. I think Danik saw the indecision in my face so he nodded to the other guardians that were wary of our sudden exchange. _

_In a low voice he said, "Besides you've put your body through hell recently. Eat right and sleep and you'll have more strength to leave and search for her." He did have a point. During that meeting I was starting to feel vertigo from being awake so long. I was in no condition for a fight, let alone a break-out. I composed myself and gave him a curt nod. I had to stop tormenting myself for Roza's sake. _

_Pleased with the message I was giving off, Danik laughed, raising his voice as he slapped my back and switched back to English, "I really wasn't joking when I said you looked like shit." _

_I laughed along with him, playing the part. The other guardians immediately relaxed and began escorting me back to the apartment. _

It's been two days and I was already seeing progress with my body. I forced myself to eat and sleep while I worked for the court and took on the role of being unsuspicious. During that same time, Daniil leaked information to me about Rose. But I still wasn't satisfied. They were not doing a very good job with their search.

My mind was constantly bombarded with waves off worry. I had no idea of whether she was alive or dead _or worse. _I mentally added. Rose was out there somewhere, and I would never forgive myself if something happened to her. I had to find her. I did it once before, back when I worked at the academy when she was a novice but I had a whole team of guardians with me and more connections back then.

Now she was a skilled guardian that went missing. This was going to be close to impossible to do. It would being like searching for a needle in a haystack. But I had a profound determination to find Roza. I wanted her safely tucked in my arms. But I knew that last part was impossible. How could she ever forgive me for what I've done?

Treating her the way I did as a strigoi was bad enough but what I did when changed back was far worse. But only one thing was repetitively ringing in my mind._ I would do anything if it meant saving her._ And with that line echoing in my head, I jumped up and out of the fresh new grave.

I knew I had to be very careful about what I was going to do over the next few days. Daniil was a good friend and I knew he wanted to help me in any way possible, but he had done enough. I needed to leave and start the long mission to find Rose on my _own_.

"It's about time." Daniil muttered to me as I handed him the shovel. He left to return it to the supplies shed as my other four escorts started leading me to my next job which was filing in the records vault that was in the basement of the Guardian Counsel Building.

Shortly after, Daniil joined us as we descended down the cool concrete steps of the building. But as we walked over the railed landing that led to another set of stairs, I paused as I noticed a poster that was taped on the cinder-block wall. I froze in my tracks at what I saw, it was a picture of Rose with bold lettering across the top and bottom. I read it quickly and sucked in a breath of air.

_WANTED CRIMINAL: ROSEMARIE HATHAWAY_

_Suspect Warranted for High Treason. Accused murderer of the late Queen Tatiana Ivashkov. Reward granted to the capture of Hathaway._

I was appalled. How could they think Rose would do something like this? And for that matter, pin this on her when she was a missing person! My fists balled up in fury. Daniil noticed my sudden tense stance and nudged my arm forward, "Come on man, keep moving. It's nothing-"

"YOU KNEW?" I shouted in Russian. He gulped and opened his mouth to speak but I cut him off with another question, "HOW LONG! HOW LONG HAVE THEY THOUGHT THIS!"

"Since this morning" he replied back in Russian, but he quickly switched back to English as he said, "Take it easy Belikov. Just keep moving and forget about this." he said trying to cover for me but I've had enough of the pretending. My jaw flexed as I readied myself for a fight. He sent me a glare trying to send the message to back off, but I ignored it.

Like an automatic reflex, I went for two of the guardians closes to me. I rammed their heads together and they immediately fell down as they went unconscious. The next two guardians went to restrain my arms as they tried to bound my wrists with flex cuffs. I swirled around in agitation as I kicked one guardian in the stomach that sent him falling down the flight of stairs while I grabbed a hold of the other and shoved the side of his head against the steel railing.

I was about to go after my last guard when I realized it was Daniil. But no sooner had I come to that realization, I was taken off guard as his arms yanked me away from the now knocked-out guardian. I staggered back and then that's when I felt the back of my head make contact with the hard wall and everything went black...

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A/N: Ooo, cliff hanger! But don't worry i'll try updating again on Friday. Review!

~Fabulous


	14. Visitors

A/N:Hey guys! Sorry this update is a day later than what I promised, but it's much longer than the last one, so I think you'll be pleased. When Dimitri was depressed in the last two books of the series, I seriously thought "Someone needs to smack him around a bit!" That way he snaps out of it. So the dream sequence in the beginning of this chapter pretty much explains that. You're starting to get more action out of Dimitri now, so I hope you enjoy this chapter, I know I did.

The conversations between Dimitri, Oksana, and Yeva are all intended to be spoken in Russian, I'm just too lazy at the moment to look up translations, everything else in DPOV is english...

Also, Dimitri's middle name and Oksana's last name were never mentioned in the books, so I came up with my own versions, what do you think? Read and Review!

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_"The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn." -DavidRussell_

DPOV

As the darkness took over all my senses, I started to have one of those 'out of body experiences'. The one where your subconscious has fallen into a dream and you're fully aware of it. The blackness soon cleared and I found myself standing in a large meadow. I felt a gentle breeze as it cascaded across the knee-length grass and swirled around my body. I glanced up to see a beautiful sunset painted across the clouds in the sky. Wherever I was in this dream, it was wonderful.

But then I sensed a presence in the grassy field with me. To the left of me I saw a woman appear. Her silhouette was blurry at first, but then slowly it focused and became more sharp. I sucked in a quick breath, it was Oksana Reznikova. I remember her from when I was a young teenager where she and her husband Mark moved into a house close to where my family lived in Baia, Russia. I remember I used to follow her husband Mark around like a lost puppy, begging him to show me guardian moves and tell me fight stories.

But that was so long ago. I distantly wondered why I was dreaming of her, I didn't know much about her aside from the fact that my grandmother, Yeva, was very fond of her-claiming she enjoyed her company and particularly because Oksana seemed to share similar gifts as her. But I really didn't know anything else about her, other than she was a nice neighbor that would sometimes give me and my sisters really good slides of black bread that almost rivaled my mother's.

"Dimka, it's been too long. And look at you! A healthy, grown man! I remember like it was just yesterday that you were a lanky teenager." she said, her accent very heavy. I smiled at her in response. She returned the gesture but her smile soon turned into a deep frown, "I'm sorry..." she murmured.

I arched an eyebrow, what did she mean? But my silent question was soon answered. I heard a rustling in front of me, I turned my head to see what it was and I stopped breathing altogether.

I saw the small frame of my grandmother, Yeva Belikova, stalking towards me. The soft breeze whipped back her gray hair to reveal her dark piercing eyes, and at this moment they were filled with a murderous glare. I was confused as to why she was also in my dream, but my musing was abruptly stopped as my grandmother made the last quick stride up to where I was standing and like a flash of lightening, she stuck me across the cheek with great force._ What the hell! _I mentally retorted.

And as if she could read my thoughts, she struck me again. This time much harder.

"Ow, babushka! Stop it..." I whined back.

A low growl rumbled in her chest and I gulped right before she slapped me for the third time.

"You will speak when spoken to." she hissed in growl. I took a step back and stared back at her in complete bewilderment. What was the meaning of all of this?

Yeva eyed me levelly before snapping, "Don't you _dare_ use than look on me Dimitri Andrick Belikov or so help me..."

I straightened myself up and composed my neutral guardian mask. I spared a quick glance at Oksana and she was giving me a look of sympathy. "Dimka, I know this all seems very strange, but this is real to an extend. _We're real._ The dream not so much, but I can only wield my spirit energy for a little longer. So please pay attention."

"You're a spirit user?" I asked her. Now I do remember Princess Valisa mentioning another spirit user that Roza met when she came to visit my family, but I wouldn't have thought of Oksana, yet again when I was younger she never showed signs of her specialized element...

"Yes I am." she replied back pulling me out of my thoughts.

I sensed Yeva walk back up to me and I prepared myself for another slap, but instead I was embraced in a tight hug. "I knew Roza would find a way to save you..."she mumbled into my chest. I flinched hearing Rose's name spoken aloud.

The next words I spoke, I immediately regretted, "But it wasn't her babushka. Princess Vaslisa saved me." My grandmother immediately shoved herself out of the hug and struck my cheek _again._ I could feel the nerves start to go numb.

"She may have been the one wielding the magic, but _Roza_ was the one to save you. How could you be such a heartless disgrace of a man and say such a thing!" she shouted.

I was too ashamed to answer her. Everything she said was right. Nothing I said anymore made sense. I was starting to loose my old self altogether.

Oksana whispered something to Yeva that I didn't quite catch. She nodded her head at her and turned back to me.

"I don't have much more time, so I'll make this quick. The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn. You have been given the blessing of a second chance of life Dimka, yet you're choosing the wrong path."

My eyes widened. Does she know what I've said to Rose? My grandmother gave me knowing look.

"Self-loathing over memories is the task of a coward. Hurting the ones you love is the job of a fool. And making irrational actions is the act of an idiot." Each word she spoke was filled with venom. But what she said next terrified me, "Right now Roza needs you. She will not admit this for quite some time, but her future and life depends on your strength. Something you have lost."

My heart started to ache remembering all that I did and said to Rose. I could feel my depression waking back up inside of me. But my grandmother's words stopped me from slipping under. I felt there was so much truth in her words. And here she was telling me Rose was in danger.

Over the past few days, I've started to feel my strength return, but it just wasn't fully there yet. The remaining pieces lived within someone else now... Yeva glared at me as she hissed, "You will look at me when I am talking to you. Do you understand?"

I met her piercing stare as I replied, "Yes, babushka."

"Choose the correct path and burn all that it bad and evil. From there you'll find your strength and you'll find Roza. But until that is settled, you are to NEVER COME HOME. You are a dishonorable embarrassment to the family. I'd rather have your mother think you are dead then know the truth. You must fix the damage you have caused and save Roza. If you cannot, you will no longer be a part of the family. Do I make myself clear?"

I was shocked, but nodded my head in understanding. This was a lot to take in, but I decided to speak up. "I have realized the mistakes I've done. And I am trying to choose the right path, but Roza is missing and I fear I won't be able to find her."

Yeva took this in for a moment and then gave me an odd look, "The second path you choose will not be without it's costs. Be wary of the journey ahead. You will find her."

And then all too soon the dream ended. I didn't know how to make sense of it. All this time Oksana was s spirit user, but I was unnerved by the fact that she could walk a dream. That was something I only thought _Ivashkov_ was capable of doing. But it just didn't make sense, I saw and spoke to my grandmother. But she isn't a even a Moroi. How could she dream walk? Maybe it has something to do with her being a vrăjitoare...

I chose to believe all that I have seen in the dream was real. Babushka was right. I need to stop swimming in my head and move on with my life. Starting with Roza. I have to mend the bridge I have broken with her, I needed her. Something else babushka also said startled me. Rose depended on me. I could see the flaws in that fact, but nonetheless, I had to find her and know she was alright.

I opened my eyes to check my surroundings. The back of my head was pounding. I knew I crossed a line when I broke my self-control and attacked my escorts, but at the time I couldn't contain myself.

Knowing Roza was missing started to wake me out of my delusional unhappy state, but after seeing the warrant poster for her. And realizing someone was calling _my Roza _a murderer was crossing the line. Sure she kills strigoi, but that's her job. Killing a royal moroi on the other hand isn't, and that's something I know she'd never do.

So in that moment I realized how I truly cared for her and knowing she was unsafe and wrongly accused, it woke up a beast inside of me. It was nothing like the monster that I had become when I was a strigoi, no-this was something entirely different.

Throughout my life I've worked to stay in control of my actions, but sometimes, I couldn't always control my anger. My father was a fine example of that. One day he just pushed me over the edge and I lost it. But after that, I worked hard to control my feelings and actions. I hated feeling irrational thoughts and then acting on those thoughts without hesitation.

I pride myself in strategizing and seeing and weighing things from all angles before making a decision. But when I met Roza, that rationality started to sway. I wanted to act on my feelings, but knew I shouldn't. And now it's like I've imprinted on her. Nothing else matters unless she's somehow involved in my life. I felt this indescribable need to keep her safe and protect her. It was identical to the love I held for my mother, sisters and grandmother, but it was intensified. It was more powerful than the feelings of my family.

Roza is my soul mate. I remember saying something to her once,_ "I'd do a lot of things to protect you..." _It had been right after we spoke to Victor and he tried to threaten us by exposing our relationship. And right now the emotions and protectiveness were the same.

I attacked my guards because I was planning to escape court and find Rose and protect her. Unfortunately my actions weren't as carefully thought out as I had wanted. Love has a cruel way of clouding your judgement. But now I see things clearly. I'm leaving, but this time it must be done with caution.

My vision focused and I noticed under the dim lightening, that I was now in the records vault of the Guardian Counsel Building.

My arms and legs were bound by flex cuffs to a wooden chair. To the left, I saw the bodies of my four escorts piled on top of one another in the corner of the room.

"Sleeping beauty awakens at last..." a man's voice said from a shadow that was cast on a desk. But I knew this voice, it was Daniil.

"How long have I been out?" I casually asked as I started formulating different ways on how to free myself from the chair. He laughed with no real emotion as he slid off the desk and took two steps towards me.

"Long enough to cover up for you and haul your ass down here..." he replied.

I nodded my head. Daniil was helping me? But then why did he tie me to a chair...

"You know, you lost it up there." he cooly observed.

Everything made sense in this moment, he knocked my head into the wall, that's why I blacked out. But I sensed that something wasn't right with him. "Hey Danik, you can stop with the act now, untie me man." I kept my voice calm.

He chuckled and ignored me while he started toying with an object in his hands. "You know, I've risked a lot for you Dimka. And what do you do in return? Act like a mad man and start attacking guardians..." he took another step towards me and it was then that I noticed the object he held was a gun. A semi-automatic pistol to be exact.

I pulled my wrists against the flex cuffs, measuring how tight they were. I would be able to break free, but I needed to distract Daniil long enough.

Noticing my not so subtle struggle Daniil spoke up again, " I wouldn't do that if I were you." he laughed again, and at the same time I realized something was definitely wrong with him. He glanced up at me, "Do you have any idea how difficult of a dilemma I have now?" he paced back and forth, swinging the pistol beside his arm in the process.

"Just let me go Danik. Forget this ever happened." I said to him. He stopped his pacing and abruptly turned about, his eyes were livid "I don't want to do this, but I have to kill you now!" he shouted.

"No you don't. You have a choice Daniil." I had to keep him talking.

"No actually I _don't _Dimitri. I have to follow protocol. I can't fuck up my career for you. It was a mistake even slipping you information about Guardian Hathaway. I know we're friends, but I _know you. _I know you're not going to let this go. You're going to leave and search for her."

"Of course I am! I love her!" I shouted in irritation.

Daniil scoffed, "Yeah, two perfect matches", his face turned dark as he snapped, " A former strigoi and royal murderer. You two really make such a _great _couple."

That's it. I'd had enough of this. In one swift movement I forced my legs forward where the flex cuffs tightened and ripped apart freeing my legs from the chair and I immediately stood up. But at the same time I broke free, Daniil pulled the trigger of the pistol and fired a bullet into my leg. I half expected him to do it, but I didn't expect it to hurt so bad. I swirled my body around and use the back of the chair that was still bound to me to smack to gun of his hand.

The gun was tossed across the room a few feet into the dark hallway lined with filing cabinets. I then rammed my body against Daniil and we both went crashing to the ground.

The moment my body hit the concrete floor, Daniil shot out his right leg and kicked my exposed sternum forcefully. I gasped from the impact as the shooting pain railed around in my chest like a hand grenade that had just been set off inside.

As I desperately tried to catch a single breath of air, Danill scrambled to his feet and kicked my stomach. I grunted from the blow but swung out one of my legs and knocked him over again.

I then propelled my body away from him as I started to free my wrist from the now crushed chair. "What the fuck is wrong with you!" I shouted as I freed one of my wrists and started pushing myself off the ground.

Daniil started crawling towards the gun as he snarled, "I can't let you leave." His hand was out-stretched towards the pistol, he was only a foot away from it now. I sucked in a quick breath and charged my body towards him.

I was on the floor again, throwing lethal punches against Daniil but he was doing a good job of deflecting my blows. He struggled against me still trying to get to the gun. I used the back of the chair that was still attached to one of my wrists and slammed it down on his stretched-out hand. I heard the sick crunching sound as the bones in his fingers broke under the pressure and crushed.

He howled out in pain as one of his legs lifted and sent a hit into my back. I rolled my body to the side and slammed the chair to the side of his head, but at the last minute he pulled away.

Summoning up as much energy as I could I launched my body against his and pinned him down. I used the chair piece to my advantage and pushed down on his throat cutting off his air supply, he struggled against me, but I had the upper hand and my hold was too strong.

"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!" I shouted to him. "We're friends Daniil! I'm not your enemy!" It pained me, to do this, Daniil was my friend, but I'm going to have to incapacitate him. But before I did that, I wanted to know the real reason why he was suddenly turning on me. I loosened the pressure on his throat to allow him to speak.

"I HAVE TO! I can't let you leave..." he trailed off, his eyes started to glaze over. It was then that I realized someone had used compulsion on him. This wasn't him.

"WHO TOLD YOU THIS!" I commanded. If a person failed at the task they were compelled to do, there was a way to snap them out of it if they admitted to who initiated the order. There was indecision in his catatonic eyes so I repeated the question while I applied more pressure to his throat.

"TASHA!" he confessed.

"What?" maybe I didn't hear him right.

"T-tasha! Sh-she's the one who told me I couldn't let you leave court..." he trailed off, his face was frantic.

"Why?" this wasn't right.

"I don't know!" Daniil shouted back. Without thinking, I removed the chair piece from his neck and slammed it against his forehead where he went unconscious.

I was so taken off guard by all of this, but I knew someone would have heard the gun shot and I need to leave. I freed my other wrist and stood up, but the moment I did I staggered forward as my left leg gave out on me. I groaned as I clutched onto a tall filing cabinet for support. During the fight with Daniil, my adrenaline was so high I didn't feel my leg injury but now I'm starting to see and feel the effects.

Daniil had shot me in the calf and to my luck, the bullet missed all the major trauma areas and exited out the other side. But unfortunately, the wound was bleeding profusely. I had to make a tourniquet to stop the blood flow. I took off the cotton jacket that I was wearing and started shredding the cloth. From there I secured a few pieces around the wound tightly while wrapping the rest of the cloth around the bottom half of my leg to soak up the blood.

I then grabbed the pistol in front of me and tucked it into my pant pocket. I searched Daniil and took a set of keys, along with a few cartridges for the gun and a wad of bills from his wallet. I felt guilty for taking all this from him, but I no longer had a choice. I just attacked all five of my escorts. I had to leave court _now_.

I limped my way over to the front door of the room that led to a hallway. I checked the area to make sure the coast was clear, then limped my way out of the room and down the narrow hall leaving a trail of bloody foot prints. I cursed under my breath, but kept moving, constantly scanning the surrounding area for any threats.

I came to an emergency exit door and braced myself for what I had to do next. I pulled out the pistol and gripped it firmly in my right hand. I also clutched onto a full cartridge in my other hand. I had to make a run for it until I found a vehicle. Meaning if anyone stopped me I was going to have to shoot them. But not kill. I could never do that. I just needed to stun my attackers long enough to flee. It was late at night moroi time and I silently prayed not too many guardians were on duty tonight.

I took a quick breath and kicked the exit door with my good leg.

I immediately scanned the area and what I saw before me made my heart skip a beat.

There stood before me was the alerts faces of Adrian Ivashkov, Christian Ozera, and Edison Castile. But the worst part was the icy, penetrating glare of Valisa Dragomir. I gulped at my now dry throat. This wasn't what I was expecting to find...

RPOV

I pulled away from Sydney and closed my eyes again. I could still feel the painful pulse of the throbbing inside my head but I ignored it. I focused all my attention on remembering Eric. The way he looked, the memory of his death, anything I could conjure up to summon up his ghost. I felt a swirling rush rake across my skin and I popped my eyes open.

There hovered before me was the restless spirit of Eric Dragomir. Unlike Kate and Tatiana, he wore no mark of his death. He was blonde and beautiful, just like the last time I'd seen him on the plane. His figure was transparent and he wore an emotionless look on his face as he stared at me.

I sucked in a quick breath as I asked a question to break the awkward silence, "You haven't moved on because you have unfinished business here, right?"

In response he just stared, but I noticed a small nod of his head.

"Okay, good. So is it because you have an illegitimate child that no one knows about?" I tried to ask this as calmly as I could, but I knew I was trembling slightly.

He face suddenly became more animated, his stare turned into an unsettling, menacing glare as the corners of his mouth turned up in a sneer. His teeth were clenched, but his fangs were exposed and the sight of him put chills down my back.

His response set me off and I walked closer up to him with a cold glare of my own, "You can't hide this secrete anymore Eric! Lying to your family for all these years is bad enough, but think about Lissa! She's the _last living Dragomir_ that we know of! And that means she can't even represent her family in the Moroi counsel! She has no voice! She can't vote! Tell me who her lost sibling is and help you family!"

He continued to stare me down but I saw a glint of another emotion flicker in his eyes. He opened his mouth and shouted something, but I heard no sound. But that didn't seem to stop him, he continued to shout a line repeatedly over and over again.

I stepped back and tried to read his lips, but it made no sense. I was only picking up gibberish. From what I could understand he was saying, 'Son-JA KLARP'.

"What the hell does 'Son-JA KLARP' mean!" I shouted at him. He stopping his silent shouting and stared at me with frustration. He hovered over to me and I _almost_ shrieked from his close proximity. He jabbed a cool finger against my chest and I shuddered. He then point that same finger to the left of him into the almost deserted parking lot.

At first I was confused and didn't understand what he wanted me to see, but then I saw it. I was hard to make it out in the dark parking lot, but soon it grew in size and became more visible.

To right of my body, just behind Eric, swarmed a dark cloud. I had seen something like it once before and also the last time I had seen it, Eric's ghost was there too. It was the entrance to the world of the dead.

I felt my stomach churning in knots as my whole body, right down to the core of my bones went freezing ice-cold. The throbbing in head burst into a blazing fire. I felt my body sway as my back crashed down on the black pavement of the parking lot. My head bounced and tapped the ground as my eyes widened. Eric continued his pointing all while I saw shadows emerged from all around me. I heard the distant scream of a woman as I watched the dark cloud grow larger.

I faintly saw the outline of skulls and cross bones before everything suddenly went black...

I found myself standing in very bright, white room. My body felt like jelly and my vision was blurred. I blinked a few times and soon my eyesight became more sharp. I noticed I wasn't alone in this room.

Someone else was there with me. I screamed at what I saw. It was Kate. Her blonde hair was in a tangled mess, her normally blue eyes were so dark they looked almost black, and her entire face was scrunched up in a twisted, sadistic tone.

"YOU!" she snarled as she walked towards me and hissed as she bared her blood stained fangs at me.

She lunged at me but I dodged her and then everything went black again...

I was distantly aware of someone shaking me and calling my name. Everything hurt. My body felt like it was just set on fire and then immediate frozen. But the worst was my head, I was experiencing a very painfully migraine.

I cautiously opened my eyes to be greeted with the worried eyes of Sydney. I looked past her to find I was staring up at the cushioned ceiling of a car. I started glancing around and noticed I was lying down across the back seat of an SUV and I had two thick blankets covered across my body.

I swallowed to find my throat was very dry. I glanced back at Sydney and croaked, "What happened?"

Sydney let out a deep breath and said, "Well first you screamed and then you fainted. But it was more of a black-out because..." she glanced at her watch, "You've been out for three hours."

"WHAT!" I shouted and tried sitting up, but the motion made me feel nauseous.

Sydney helped me up and handed me a water bottle. I greedily snatched it and gulped down the entire bottle's contents. When I was finished, I felt a lot better, but my head still _really hurt._

I shrugged off the blankets and asked, "Why am I covered in blankets and in a car?"

Sydney raked her hand through her hair and climbed over to where I was now sitting upright. "Your body was trembling and your skin was so cold, I didn't know what else to do so, I dragged you into my car and covered you in blankets."

I grimaced, what the hell happened to me after talking to Eric? I glanced out the window and stiffened. We weren't in the parking lot anymore. "Where are we!" I asked frantically.

"Somewhere remote and safe." Sydney quickly answered. She must of seen the bewilderment form in my eyes so she added, "We're in a park, about an hour's drive away from the restaurant." I furrowed my eyebrows, why would we have to leave the parking lot to go to a park? Oh right, to not draw attention...

"Rose what's happening to you? You kept tossing in your sleep and started muttering. But you had this look on your face before you fainted, what did you see?"

I perked up at that last part, "You believe me? You think I see ghosts?"

She frowned, "I'm warming up to it. I- I _felt_ something before you fell."

"What?" I asked.

She shook her head, "I don't know how to explain it. I f-felt this cold rush against my back and then I felt extremely sad... I dunno..." she looked up at me trying to search for words.

"Sydney I have to tell you something, I'm-"

"Shadow-kissed", she cut in while using her fingers as quotation marks.

"You know? Since when?" she adverted her gaze as she confessed, "When you were unconscious, I did some research on you. Hey don't look at me like that!" she had met my unconvinced glare again.

"Um, I'm sorry. And what did you find?"

"Don't apologize. And well, I don't need to get into the specifics, but there were records on your bond with the princess and the term came up. So I did some more digging and found an article saying something about you being able to see spirits..." she trailed off, I knew she felt uncomfortable about all this, so I decided to drop it.

"Sydney, do me a favor and just forget the last fews hours..."

"But Rose-"

"Just forget it."

"You fainted!"

"SYDNEY! DROP IT!" her eyes widened from my outburst. "Sorry." I blurted out and then an uncomfortable silence surrounded us. I didn't understand what happened to me. But I had this uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach that if I tried to understand it, I wasn't going to like what I found. So I decided to forget the hallucination and odd dream.

I needed to focus on what was important. Finding Lissa's sibling.

After a few minutes I decided to break the silence, "Do you have any idea what 'Son-JA KLARP' means?"

Sydney jumped slightly, not expecting me to change the conversation suddenly, "What?" she asked.

"Son-JA KLARP. It's what Eric-" I suddenly paused. I didn't want to mention the subject of ghosts again at the moment. I composed myself and reworded my response, "Son-JA KLARP. It's some phrase I don't understand. Do you have any idea what it could mean?"

Sydney furrowed her brows in deep thought and after a minute she said, "I don't recognize it. Maybe it's a name? The beginning part, 'Son-JA' sounds like the name Sonya."

I stiffened after she spoke. How could I of not understood the many times Eric silently shouted. There was a name I knew that matched his wording, "Sonya Karp..." I whispered.

Sydney perked up, "Hey yeah, that's what it sounds like. I know that name, I think I've come across a Moroi named that..."

I tuned out whatever else she was saying as everything suddenly clicked in place. Eric had given me a name as a clue. The name of a woman I once had as a teacher. I felt my blood run cold because it was also the name of a woman that was now a strigoi...

* * *

A/N: Next update? I really don't know when, finals start next week so I'll be too busy to write. In the meantime, review and maybe check out my other story and one-shot?

~Fabulous


	15. Deadly Choices

A/N: Holy crap you guys! Last time I checked this story it had over 100 reviews? That's awesome! I know it's been awhile since I've updated this story but no more worries, I'm returning back to weekly updates : )

I would of posted this chapter earlier but my computer got a virus and that mixed in with last minute college planning took up a lot of my time... Anyway so moving on to a lighter note, some of you have asked a few questions for the last few chapters, so I thought I'd address two of them now, that way everyone else gets an answer too.

1. All anonymous POVs will stay a mystery until the end of the story. At the last chapter I'll reveal them all. But I love your theories. Someone was very close to guessing the "woman in the shadows".

2. Certain Events that happen in the last two books will also happen in my story so Sonya Karp unfortunately is not Eric's mistress. Although that'd be one hell of a plot twist! I am however, planning something more dramatic involving her, but you'll just have to read and find out. *evil laugh*

I hope that clears up a few things. And as for this new update... WARNING THIS CHAPTER ALONG WITH THE NEXT TWO CONTAIN DRAMATIC VIOLENCE. Enjoy?

* * *

** Traveling ****Messenger**

I stepped through the front door of the parlor and my senses were immediately attacked with the strong scent of blood. I heaved in a long, deep breath and silently moaned in arousal. I was told this place dealt with a lot of blood exchange, but I never realized it would smell so pleasant as well.

I walked over to the concierge desk and smirked at what I saw. A young strigoi most likely around the age of eighteen when he was awakened, sat reclined on a cushioned chair in front of a large computer screen, one hand clutching the mouse hooked up to the computer clicking away, while the other hand held a medium sized soft drink container. As he sipped on the straw I noticed the liquid he was drinking was a wine colored red. My nose scrunched up in disgust, he was feeding on _stale _blood.

"How can you stand to drink that vile stuff." I hissed as he rocked the chair forward and snapped his attention to me. He gave me a once over before he quipped back, "It's 'AB' negative and it's only a day old. If you want some, it'll cost you."

I rolled my eyes. I could find my own food. "No thanks. I prefer live blood." I sniffed the air and frowned, "Especially not human blood either."

He shrugged his shoulders, "Hey it's actually pretty good. I mix it with a few shots of Moroi type 'O' positive and it's _divine.._." he trailed off as he sucked on a few more sips before he muttered, "But whatever, suit yourself. Now what do you want?" All easygoingness left his face as he stood up, placed his drink down and gave me an impatient stare.

I crept closer to him, "I'm here to see Donovan. I have a message to deliver to him."

The young man chucked at me, "He doesn't visit this place anymore. Sorry." He crossed his arms over his chest and straightened his back in a way that meant he was warning me to leave. I briefly glanced down at my feet and let out a small sigh. Then I tilted my head back up and met his pathetic attempt at trying to intimidate me. In a low growl, I muttered, "I know he's here."

The man looked at me in mock surprise, acting completely unfazed by my statement. "Oh really?" He leaned his head forward in a manner to taunt me, "Because the last time I checked he wasn't."

I shook my head, no wonder he had this idiot stationed at the front of the store. _Always let the pawns go first. _My new boss would tell me. I suddenly lunged forward and wrapped my hands around his neck. For a small second I saw a look of shock flash across his face before I snapped his neck and ripped his head off.

The body dropped to the floor as I tossed the head aside and stalked down the hallway that was behind him and busted down the second door on the right.

As I entered the small room I quickly spotted a tall man seated behind a dark stained-wood desk. He didn't seem startled by my sudden intrusion and simply continued sorting through a stack of papers as he cooly said, "I thought she'd at least send a human, not one of her lowly henchmen to send a message."

I let out a deep warning growl before replying, "She was pressed for time. And besides, her normal errand boy became lunch."

Donovan smirked at that and placed whatever he was looking at down on the desk. "I see and what are you to her anyway? Last time I checked you were the Moroi queen's personal bloodwhore. Now you've been promoted to a _messenger_ for one of the best connections I have. That's truly pathetic. At least when she started out and was involved with Nathan, she was doing more active duties."

"Nathan is gone and I'm here now. So cut the bullshit. She wants to offer you a deal."

"And what would that be?" he mocked.

I balled my fists and looked away from his powerful gaze, "Hathaway's searching for you."

"Oh yes, Charlotte told me this last night. She's the one who took out Tatiana for us right?" I involuntarily flinched at the name of the deceased Moroi queen. She haunted my mind too much. I was a fool to ever be involved with her. Once I was awakened, I found my real mate. A woman with more power than any spoiled Moroi could ever have.

"That's what the Moroi believe. But the more important fact is that she's on the hunt for you. Apparently you have information she needs."

He stood up and started toying with some small glass paperweight. "I don't really see what a guardian like her needs my help for. Unless she's still tracking Belikov, but I thought he would of taken care of her by now."

I stared at him wide eyed, "You don't know?"

"What!" he growled, but there was a hint of curiosity behind his harsh tone.

"Belikov was turned back. He's a dhampir again." I dryly stated.

He tossed the weight aside and stared at me in disbelief, "_That's impossible..._" he whispered.

I grinned, fully satisfied that I'd caught him off guard. "It is. And apparently he's leaked information about you to the guardian council."

"WHAT! THAT BASTARD WILL PAY!" he fumed. I restrained the urge to laugh at him. He acts like a true fool at times. He turned his eyes to slits and took a step towards me. "How do I know you're not lying. And what does _your boss and Hathaway _have to do with all of this?_"_

I took a step closer to him, "She wants Hathaway. And since Hathaway wants you, the offer is really quite simple. Give us Hathaway and we'll bring Belikov to you."

He took a moment to ponder this before he made his decision, "Fine. But first tell me where Belikov is then I'll trap Hathaway in one of my houses._" _I grinned wider, this was going to be an interesting next few days...

**RPOV**

"TELL ME WHERE HE IS!" I threatened again as a few stray locks of tangled wet hair dangled over my forehead. Water droplets formed at the tips and then trickled down to the left cheek of the strigoi I now had trapped in my arms.

"_I'm not telling you __**anything!**__" _he hissed as he tried to wiggle out of my embrace. I growled in annoyance. This bastard was _really _starting to piss me off. I closed my eyes for a brief moment and quickly felt the fiery-icy sensation as I opened myself up to my inner strength. I opened my eyes to be met with a red blur but soon everything focused and I felt the surge of hatred fill my entire body up as my muscled tensed with new power.

I looked back down at the strigoi and he visibly gulped in fear. I grinned in response, that was always their reaction after I 'shifted' into my darker self. I felt goose bumps start to form on my skin as a gust of wind suddenly crashed against my already cold body. Even though I'd been fighting for twenty minutes, and the fact that my body was fully pumped with adrenaline, I was _freezing. _My clothes were drenched as I stood outside behind a strip club in the pouring rain.

At the moment I was wearing a very short black dress with thin lacy straps. I wasn't really expecting it to rain tonight because otherwise, I would have worn something that covered me up better. But the more skin I showed, the better chances I had of luring a strigoi out of the clubs and into one of my interrogations.

It's been two days since I've seen Sydney. After the shock of realizing Sonya Karp was somehow a connection to Eric, Sydney and I started researching everything about her...

_I felt like my head was spinning a million times a minute as Sydney's finger tips stroked and tapped across the keyboard of her laptop. We were now sitting on the far side of a long benched table inside of a pavilion in the park. Her car was parked right beside it on the pavement slab that was laid out for a few parking spaces. My life felt like one giant, terrifying rollercoaster-riding on a rocky chain of unexpected events._

_Knowing Sonya was somehow connected to Eric completely shook me up down to my core. It wasn't really the shock of hearing my former teacher was linked to Lissa's lost sibling, it really rather the fear that whatever information she knew or still has will never be found because she became a strigoi. She's now a lost cause, off the radar, impossible to track, and if already found by a guardian, most likely dead._

_I prayed to god I understood what Eric was trying to tell me. I'm taking a risk by using what he said as the honest truth. After all, ghosts don't lie. Right? I started to feel sick to my stomach as I blurted out, "You don't think she's the one who had an affair with Lissa's Dad, do you?" It literally hurt me to say that, but I had to know. I had to know my odds of ever finding this kid._

_Sydney smirked at that before replying, "Maybe but I don't think so..." she trailed off as she leaned closer into the computer screen and scrutinized something that had caught her eye. And then suddenly she pulled back and shouted, "Ah-ha!"_

_I jumped not expecting her sudden reaction. As she ignored my bewilderment, she turned the laptop over for me to see. "Look at this. This is where I'd heard the name before, it was on one of the accounts Eric set up for this Jane Doe."_

_"He had more than one account?" I asked._

_"Well just one other one. I searched all of Eric's bank records/transactions and found that a few years after the old account was set up, he moved a large amount of money over to another bank. And again setting the account up for Jane Doe, but get this, the account wasn't opened until five years later and then that's when Sonya's name showed up. She was listed as the beneficiary for the account if something happened to the holder."_

_"What?" My head started to clear up at this new fact._

_"She had just turned eighteen at that time, meaning the timeline doesn't add up. She must have been a relative, not the baby's mother."_

_"Okay, but why her? She must of known Eric. How big is her family?"_

_Sydney grimaced after I said that, "That's what I'm looking at now. She comes from a huge family. So if any of the relatives fit the timeline of Eric's affair, it's going to be extremely difficult to pin point it on someone."_

_I let out a shaky sigh. I just **knew** it wasn't going to as simple as I originally thought. In my head, I thought finding information on Eric's mistress would become easier on us now with a lead. And as always with everything in my life, things were just going to get more complicated. But one thing I now knew definitely stood out crystal clear. Sonya Karp wasn't the mother of Eric's illegitimate child, but she sure as hell was involved._

_I didn't have time to waste around and chase in circles until we found small scraps of new evidence. I need answers now. And the only way to do that was if I talked directly to the source myself. Sonya. Karp._

_I felt my stomach start to involuntarily quiver as the realization hit me. I had to go hunt Sonya down. A task that not ever her former lover, Mikhail Tanner, was capable of doing. I knew without a doubt I was heading into very dangerous territory the closer I got to solving the mystery of Lissa's lost sibling._

_I briefly glanced at Sydney as she had turned her laptop back to her and started typing away again. It was dark out and the moonlight of the night peeked through the uncovered walls of the pavilion and cast down on her cheek. It illuminated her golden lily tattoo. She had bags under she eyes and her platinum blonde hair was pulled back in a loose chignon. Her whole appearance radiated with stress and fatigue. I knew in this instant, no matter how much help she could provide me with, I couldn't risk her health and job anymore. I needed her to stay safe._

_"You need to go to the royal court." I blurted out. She fingers froze at my words._

_"Wh-what?"_

_"You heard me Sydney. It's dangerous being with me now. You need to go to the court where you're safe."_

_"But-"_

_"Listen to me," I sharply said cutting her off, "You can't cause any suspicion to yourself or otherwise, someone's bound to notice and they'll find you with me. Go to court, you did mention you had to meet my father there. So go. Follow through. If you don't show up, my father will notice something's not right. Not to mention I'm sure his veins are about to burst from his forehead over my 'sudden vacation' and royal warrant. And that means he'll want to get involved with me. I can't risk that, not yet at least."_

_"Rose you're not alone in this. He actually has a lot of connections. He could really help-"_

_"No. Not yet. I need to gather more information first."_

_"Isn't that what we're doing now?"_

_"Yes, and I thank you for that. But there's another source I have yet to try in getting new information."_

_"And what's that?"_

_"Strigoi."_

_"You're out of your mind!"_

_"Exactly."_

_"How do suppose we're going to get anything from them!"_

_"No not 'we', just me. I'm going to investigate this on my own. And strigoi are the perfect source to interrogate in getting a location on Sonya. If she's even still alive, er- undead... whatever, then they'll know where she is. And if I can find her, then I can question her about Eric."_

_"That's insane! Not to mention suicidal."_

_"Oh I know, that's why you're not coming with me."_

_"Huh? Rose I'm not going to abandon you!"_

_"Sydney I'm going to hunt her down and I need you somewhere safe until I can get a new lead."_

_"No. Absolutely not. Rose you could get killed!"_

_"And so could you! Are you willing to risk your life for me?" She paused slightly but soon answered, "Y-yes." I could hear the uncertainty in her voice as if she we truly trying to consider it. And that's all I needed out of her._

_"You're not. I can tell Sydney. So if you consider me a friend as you claim that I am, you'll do this for me. You'll go back to court. Once I find a new lead, I'll contact you. But until then, you can't continue to stay with me."_

_"Rose I-"_

_"It's too late. I've made my decision." I stood up and snatch her laptop and tucked into her tote bag. I gripped her arm while I swung the bag over my opposite shoulder. I then tugged Sydney over to the CR-V where I proceeded to drag her to the royal court._

_Realizing I was serious, she did in fact eventually cave in to my demand and safely traveled to the royal court where she made plans to meet up with zmey. When we parted ways, I quickly stole a car and drove to Chicago..._

There was a large strigoi count in big cities. So over the last two days, at night, I would hunt strigoi in various night clubs where they liked to prey.

At first I didn't get much out of them, but I then started to experiment with the anger I had bottled up. And once I tapped into it, I noticed a change in the way the strigoi treated me. They were _afraid_. Something I thought they'd never be capable of. But I guess strigoi have emotions after all, you just have to know how to find them.

I was distantly aware that my new found 'anger' wasn't natural. I knew the fact that I was shadow kissed and consumed by Lissa's darkness had something to do with all my weird hallucinations and super strength but I soon realized that I could use it to my advantage.

So I began trying to control it. I still hadn't mastered it yet and I sometimes ended up killing the strigoi in a murderous daze before I could even start to question them.

But eventually I found some control, and that's when they'd start to talk after a few minutes of my 'persuasion' methods. I found out that almost no one knew Sonya. But a few claimed that a man named 'Donovan' knew her. And of course he was a strigoi, but they weren't too sure how to find him.

So that's what I'm doing now. Trying to snag any details about his whereabouts.

I heard the thundering boom from the dark sky as a lightening bolt struck out above us and illuminated the shadowed area we were fighting in.

I dug my stake deeper into his shoulder and he howled in pain as he tried to shake me off of him. But I wasn't having that. I struck out a hand and grabbed ahold of his left index finger and pinned it down on his chest.

"Don't lie to me Boris!" I hissed. I learned from one of my other strigoi encounters that a man by the name of 'Boris' was a well know contact among the undead. He knew everything and everyone. So I figured he could lead me to Donovan or Sonya. It was easy tracking him down. He owned a small strip club here in Chicago and when I found him I easily posed as an aspiring employee. He fell for the trick and I 'seduced' him into coming with me to my 'car' for an 'audition'. The moment we stepped outside, I pulled out my stake and struck out at him... I adverted my attention back to the present and shouted at him once more, "They told me you know where he is! So I'll ask you this one more time, WHERE IS DONOVAN!" I hadn't gotten a response out of him about Sonya so I had switched over to questioning him about Donovan.

The strigoi sneered at me but held his ground underneath my vice grip as he flatly spat, "I will never leak such information to a _filthy bloodwhore_ like you!" his accent thickly laced everyone of his words and I fought the urge to flinch. He was Russian.

Just thinking about Russia brought back a whole avalanche of unpleasant memories about Dimitri that I kept buried. I bit my bottom lip and swallowed my pain as latched onto Boris's exposed finger and lifted it up. I swiftly ran the stake through the flesh and with a sickening twist, the finger was no longer attached to his hand.

The sound of his tortured scream made everyone of my nerve endings sting. I didn't want to do this. I didn't want to make someone suffer. Even if they were the evil undead. But I had to and that fact alone made the dark anger inside me that much more alive.

I ignored the now missing digit and brought his bleeding hand up to his face for him to see. He tried balling his fist but I pried it open and stretched out his thumb. Before I could say anything he suddenly cried out, "I d-don't know if he's still th-there but he used to have a business out in Kentucky."

That sparked my interest. "Where?"

"Lexington. It's a-a ta-tattoo parlor he owns..." Boris proceeded to tell me the address and once I got what I wanted, I staked him in the heart and put him out of his misery.

I then dragged the body over to a dumpster and tossed him in. I didn't really have any other choice than the dumpster. It was filled up half-way so no one would see from any distance the contents inside unless they were standing directly hovered over it. I left the latch open so that light could get though in the morning and the body would disintegrate in the sunlight.

I briskly sprinted over a two and a half block walk to where I had parked my new stolen car. It was an BMW M6 coated in a sapphire black. As I walked, I felt my anger dissolve away as my normal eyesight returned. When I reached the car, I hopped in and drove my way over to the motel I had booked for the night.

It wasn't very nice yet not too bad, but I knew I had to keep a low profile even if I was still wearing Lissa's charm bracelet. I couldn't take a risk if I took it off and it just so happened that a guardian was around.

I took a hot shower and warmed my body back up from being drenched by the cold rain. As my mind cleared from the soothing temperature of the water, I couldn't contain my urgency to find this 'Donovan' person. So I dressed quickly and shrugged on the leather jacket I had kept when I stole the motorcycle back at the academy and checked out of the motel...

Almost a day later, I was an hour outside of Lexington. I stopped to get a bite to eat at a local diner in a small town, but as I watched time slowly tick by on my watch, I realized I had only two hours until sundown.

That didn't leave me much time to find the address to Donovan's business. Plus I wanted the protection of the sunlight just in case things ended badly. So I quickly gulped down my drink and paid for my meal.

As I walked out of the diner I noticed a human police officer slowly approaching my new stolen car. _Crap._ I needed to get back on the road and I now didn't have a vehicle. On top of that, my duffle bag along with all my clothes were still in the car. I had my two stakes, wallet and cellphone on me, but still, I didn't want to part with my stuff.

My mood faltered as I reluctantly walked away from the car. Without seeming like I was in a hurry, I casually strolled around to the back of the diner and walked through to the next connecting street.

I walked down a dark alleyway in the hopes of using a shortcut to the main road. I was halfway through the narrow walkway when I sensed someone was watching me. I quickened my pace but it was no use. I felt the nausea roll through me right before cold hands encased my neck and slammed my head into the brick wall. _Oh shit, _was my last thought before I blacked out...

* * *

A/N: Sorry if this chapter feels a bit choppy, I had to rewrite it from memory after I lost the original file due to a virus on my laptop. I'll go in and tweak it later when I can remember any other details I may have left out. Link for the BMW is on my profile and don't forget to Review!

~Fabulous


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Vampire Academy, Hurt-Comfort, Suspense