All the rights to Vampire Academy and the characters belong to Richelle Mead, of course.

This is my first fanfiction, and as an aspiring writer, I want to use this fanfiction as practice, and to help me grow as a writer. Enjoy!

- thefangirldiaries

Lissa's POV

I was pacing the room, using my phone to tap my chin. Why weren't they here yet? I thought anxiously. The door opened, revealing Christian with Dimitri in tow. "What happened? The whole court is running around like chickens without their heads, even the guardians are acting weird," Christian said. They don't know yet. I took a deep breath through my nose to prepare myself for the words about to come out of my mouth, making it all true. "Rose is back. She's being kept in guardian housing." My voice cracked near the end, reminding me of my fragile emotional state right now. Christian beamed, it made me happy to know that Christian had come to care about Rose. His face then contorted into confusion and worry. I looked over at Dimitri, more concerned about his reaction to this news.

His face was marble, cold and motionless. All of the basic features were there that made a person look human, except for the emotion. His body, however, was tense, like he was about to fight someone. I made a weak attempt to read his aura, but my erratic mind couldn't focus hard enough. "I was waiting for you two, She asked for us," I said, already heading to the suite's door. Christian's hand wrapped around my wrist, stopping me. "She did?" He sounded doubtful. "Yes," I hissed, suddenly feeling pissed off that he would stop me. Christian looked at me for two seconds that lasted all too long. "Alright," he nodded and released me, "let's go."

The guards who delivered the news to me hadn't told me what kind of condition Rose was in, but they looked concerned enough for their colleague for it to rub off on me. Guardians didn't worry about scraped knees, they only worried about life and death.

Dimitri silently followed us, but I knew he would rather sprint across court to see Rose ASAP. Despite his harsh words and cold attitude toward Rose before she ran away, I knew he still cared. I couldn't find it within myself to prod him about it, since he was still struggling with leaving his Strigoi past behind him. He was doing what he thought necessary, but what I did was inexcusable. I pushed Rose away when she needed me most. She reached out to me, having always been there for me and I didn't return the favor. No wonder she ran away.

I tried my best to set those thoughts aside for now, I would come back to them tonight in bed. Right now I needed to get across court and be the friend to Rose I couldn't be two weeks ago. Christian was right, the court was abuzz with the news of Rose's return, making pedestrian's eyes follow me and turn quickly back to their gossip. My teeth clenched, stupid people, stupid rumors… they're going to make this even harder on Rose. I should give her more credit since she's more than proven her strength and resilience to me before. Her resilience made it unbelievable that she would run away from her problems. I recalled the note that she had left for me which announced her departure:

Liss, with everything that's happened at court recently I don't think I'm needed anymore. Hell, I'm not even wanted here, you and Dimitri have made that very clear. I'm not going to stay here where my friends hate me and I'm done dealing with this Adrian and Dimitri bullshit. I'm going back to the human world. I did it once and I can do it again, without you this time. You would only slow me down. I guess you could say I'm going rouge, since I plan on killing a lot of Strigoi. I gave Adrian his credit card back, so don't even try to track my steps. If you do find me, you can guarantee I'll be gone before you can get to me. Besides, who's going to help you find a lowly guardian who couldn't stay out of trouble? I'm not coming back. Tell the others I said good riddance.

She didn't leave a letter for anyone else, but it was clear I was to spread the message. The words burned themselves into my mind the first time I read it. The words still ran through my veins. She hated me, but I wasn't going to abandon her. If she came back it was for a good reason, especially if she was asking for me. Part of me doubted that she ran away, or at least I didn't think she was telling the truth in her letter.

I felt something much more sinister was happening. Rose's silver stake was left in her room, so how could she even kill Strigoi? All of her clothes and personal items were left untouched, and she didn't have a lot of money without Adrian's credit card. Nothing in her letter made sense, except for her hating us all. I would too.

Once we were in the guardian's housing building I made a beeline for the circulation desk. "Where is she?" Only an imbecile would ask who I was referring to. The female dhampir pointed to the elevators, "Third floor, there's a guardian posted outside her door." I admired her efficiency. I ran over and punched the up button on the elevator. I heard Christian mutter thanks to the woman as I left them in the dust. The elevator doors opened at their leisurely pace. I squeezed in the elevator before the five or so guardians could get out, making their exit awkward and lacking personal space.

Christian and Dimitri got in after the guardians briskly walked away. My heels were tapping on the floor as soon as the doors closed, showing my impatience to get to Rose already. Why is there a guard watching her door? Seconds later, Dimitri asked the same thing, "Princess, do you think they're protecting her or keeping her under custody?" Christian snorted, "Like they care about her well-being." I gave him a sharp look which he was ignoring. "I don't know Dimitri, I don't think she needs protecting, though." He understood what I was really trying to say, for which I was grateful.

The number on the little screen turned from two to three. The elevator stopped moving. The doors opened, I could see two men in front of her door. Time slowed down. Two men? There was only supposed to be one guard. My feet started moving, but I felt like someone had pushed a slow motion button. Christian put his hand on the small of my back, urging me to keep moving. One of the men at the door was Ambrose, the other was Mikhail. Ambrose must be here by himself, so no extra guards for Rose. That was a good thing, right?

"Princess Dragomir, Lord Ozera" Ambrose and Mikhail spoke as one. I gave my best attempt at a smile, "Hey. I don't mean to cut the pleasantries but can we go in?" I asked, my voice growing terse. I was homesick, and Rose was my home right now. As much as I liked Ambrose and Mikhail, they were only obstacles for me to get to Rose. "This is off the books," Mikhail lowered his voice and tilted his head down, "Hans said no visitors, but she's been asking for you. You and Lord Ozera may go in." Mikhail raised his hand to knock, "What about Dimitri?" Christian had asked, taking a step forward. Mikhail tensed, as if Christian were pointing a gun at him. "That," Mikhail hissed, "would not be a good idea. Especially considering the state she's in." That statement felt like a slap in the face even though it wasn't directed at me. Mikhail sounded so… hateful.

"Excuse me?" This time it was Dimitri, his well controlled emotions only showed confusion, but his posture told me he was pissed. Mikhail met his gaze unwaveringly. "You heard me. Rose is hurt and confused right now, she needs her friends. She doesn't need anyone to cause her more pain. I was there, the night she visited you in your cell, it's no wonder she ran away." Dimitri narrowed his eyes and his knuckles turned white, I feared what he would do if Mikhail made him snap. Rose was a touchy subject for Dimitri, as I'd learned these past two weeks. Before any fighting could occur, there was a noise from the other side of the door, a cough. "It's okay Mikhail, I appreciate the concern but I asked for him to be here, too." Rose! Her voice so small and barely audible from behind the door. Mikhail sighed, his shoulders sagged as he turned to open the door.

I looked at Christian, then Dimitri. We all looked like deer caught in the headlights. This was it. Part of me expected to see her again, but Rose's "never coming back" had become two weeks. The door opened. I wasn't expecting anything close to what I saw.