Chapter One.

I was feeling pretty good as Dimitri and I continued walking back to the main school. We walked in silence but the silence was comfortable, neither of us felt the need to disrupt the peaceful bubble surrounding us. We just walked, his presence next to me was enough to send butterflies into my belly but I ignored them. I didn't want to ruin this perfect moment. I spotted a flash of red up ahead and groaned loudly.

Startled, Dimitri glanced down at me with one eyebrow raised. Damn him how does he do that? "What's wrong, Rose?"

I glared at the red. "I know that hair."

He glanced towards where I was looking cautiously. He spotted what I had just previously seen and cursed colorfully (I assume) in Russian. "Be nice, Rose." I whipped my head to send him a piercing glare but he continued before I could speak. "Guardian Hathaway! It's nice to see you."

My mother nodded her head stiffly, "Guardian Belikov, Rose."

I sent her a small, bitchy wave and continued glowering at the ground. I heard a light sigh come from the man beside me. "I hope you'll come see one of Rose's trainings sometime, I believe you'll be surprised at her skill."

Again my mother kept up her cool exterior as she responded. "I will surely take you up on that, Guardian Belikov. Thank you." She turned to me, "But now if you don't mind I'd like to speak with my daughter."

I almost let out another groan but a piercing glare from Dimitri stopped me in my tracks. "Of course. Good evening, Guardian Hathaway, Rose." He nodded to me sharply before he turned on his heel and walked away briskly. Another warning. I watched his back as he disappeared into the school, only turning to my mother after he was out of sight.

"Yes, mother?"

She almost looked nervous, "Rose…could we go somewhere? To talk?"

Her timid tone and cautious words shocked me so much I found myself nodding to her words. "Sure, would you like to go up to my room?"

Her face was still cautious but she nodded enthusiastically and followed me as I lead her through the deep snow to the dorms. I fell into another silent walk, this one not so comfortable. Her presence was like a thorn in my side, reminding constantly of all my feelings of resentment and abandonment. I walked faster hoping to get this over with as soon as possible. Once we entered the dorm room whispers broke out and I feel eyes trained on us. I wanted to sigh in relief when we reached the elevator but the thorn in my side prevented it. Surprisingly, she led me to my dorm; walking swiftly and leaving me in her wake. I wiggled the difficult knob and opened my door to her, allowing her to enter first.

She scanned the room seriously, taking in all the details before she turned to me. "I almost forgot; there was a problem with the academy plane that was going to take you to the academy, so you and one small group of students will be leaving early and taking one of the academy's SUVs."

I felt a grin start to spread across my face. "Leaving early? How early?"

She regarded me warily. "Two days early, Christmas Eve."

Two days extra away from this hell hole? Yes! "Oh, alright. Who else is coming with?"

"Anyone that was scheduled to be on your plane. Princess Dragomir, Lord Ozera, Mr. Ashford, Mr. Castille, Lady Ozera, and - of course - Guardian Belikov."

I grinned slightly when I heard Dimitri's name but soon composed my face into a polite smile. "Well, thank you for telling me."

She nodded again but I could almost taste her nervousness in the air. We were silent for a few moments before she spoke softly. "Rose you have become a remarkable young women and from what Guardian Belikov tells me an amazing student."

I stared at her, not sure how to respond to her kind statement. Never having experienced one with her before, but her words softened my resentment towards her a little. "Thank you but Dimitri is an amazing teacher." I responded with a tender smile.

She laughed and I marveled at the infrequent sound. "Yes I suppose he is, must be a saint to put up with you." She sighed, her familiar seriousness adjourning her face. "You have to continue training hard when he leaves though, a change of mentor is no excuse to become a bad guardian."

"What do you mean when he leaves?" I could hear the raw panic in my voice as I rushed out my words.

"You don't know?" Surprise colored her tone.

"Know what?" I was practically begging.

"Tasha Ozera asked him to be her guardian, it's an amazing opportunity that I'm sure he will accept." Certainty filled her tone, along with some bitterness which surprised me.

I choked on my words for a moment. "He's Lissa's guardian, though. Why would he give up the opportunity to guard the last Dragomir? I know they're friends but being Lissa's guardian is an honor." I was in denial, he couldn't leave. He wouldn't.

My mother's response was filled with humor. "Arrangements can be made, no matter what she's still a royal moroi. Plus they would be a good match."

My head spun and I clutched the edge of my desk tightly. I spoke slowly, carefully; trying to stop my racing mind from jumping to conclusions. "What do you mean match?"

She chuckled. "Well, she's interested in him and doesn't mind the idea of having dhampir children. She proposed that he be her guardian and they start a family together. That's as amazing of an opportunity as they come."

My heart stopped, cold sweat broke out all over my body, and my legs shook as they tried to support my weight. Dimitri. Children. Tasha. I could feel tears start to prick my eyes. "Oh."

My mother seemed to take my short response as surprise because she rambled on. Continuing about Dimitri's amazing opportunity and how even though I'd miss him I couldn't let it affect my training etc. I tuned her out, all I could hear was the blood pumping through my body. It took all of my strength to remain standing but eventually it was too much. "I have homework." She paused as I interrupted her midsentence. "I have to get up early and I need to finish my homework."

She looked hurt for a moment before her guardian mask fell back into place, "Of course. Good night, Rosemarie." She swept out of the room, closing the door tightly behind her.

I sunk to the floor, my legs finally giving out as pain flooded through me. A broken sob wrenched its way out of my throat and filled the room. I felt tears run down my cheeks. He was going to leave with Tasha. He was going to have a family with Tasha. The image presented itself in my mind before I could stop it, him touching Tasha in the passionate way he touched me on the night of the love charm. The tender hands my cared for me when I was injured instead doting on her. The way Roza rolled off his tongue and the sweet look that came with it. Once more a loud so broke through.

She would get all of those things, she would get Dimitri. She could give him everything he's ever wanted and so she would take him away, because he deserves to get what he wants. He deserves the world. The pain threatened to overwhelm me so I stood up quickly. In a flash I was out the door and running towards the gym. I needed a distraction, an outlet for my pain and anger. I could feel the tears that still dripped down my cheeks as I ran and in the corner in my mind I thanked God for not passing anyone on the way. I pushed open the gym doors and ran straight to the dummies still set from my last training session.

I went to work destroying the dummy, all my anger coming out in one big burst until all that was left was pain. I leaned my face into the dummy; my fist still pressed to its chest and let out a shaky whimper. "No." The tears on my face were still flowing but had long since mixed with my sweat. I slid down until I was sitting at the base of the dummy, my head in my hands as I let the pain eat at me. I don't know how long I sat there, my emotions spinning out of control and painfully alone until I sensed someone's presence.

The deep voice shook me out of my thoughts as it filled me with pain and dread. "Roza?"