Okay guys. I fucked up bad. And I totally understand if you never ever, ever forgive me. :( I have been putting this off for soooo long because I was having MAJOR writers block… as in screaming at the computer. Sooo, I tried my hardest (once I looked over my reviews again I realized that you guys were needing some more of my awesome Dimitri/Rose luvin') and I got my butt in gear. Here's the latest chapter and I hope you can all forgive me for holding out so long. :( love you guys – sorry.

Sadly, Maddie has been banned from using the computer… meaning I shall not be able to email her ANYTHING until her punishment is up… which will be pretty soon I think…so the chapters without her input won't be AS good because of lack of editing. :(

I kinda made a mistake but no one seemed to notice, probably because I was really sketchy at that part, but Josh isn't Lissa's sister, Josh's half-sister (ASHLEY) is Lissa's sibling, and I just kind of messed up, but anyway, I'm just clearing that up.

This chapter might be a little short, but I swear I'm going to make up for it in excitement and adventure, and some nice big cliff hangers!

(oh, and you should all check out my tumblr! Its bro-fish(dot)tumblr(dot)com

. . .

I was completely and utterly blissed out as I headed down to the gym to train my students for the day. I mean, who wouldn't be in my position? I had been blessed with amazing sex and spend the whole next day in the arms of my beautiful, Russian lover. I couldn't seem to tear my mind away from thoughts of him as I coached the teens… his gorgeous smile and body and… oh God; the things he did to me.

There was nothing that could ruin my mood, not even back talking and the punch I received in the stomach could take the smile off my face. I couldn't help but notice all the little things, like the way the plants glittered with diamonds as the sun reflected off of the fresh rain speckled plants and how lunch seemed extra yummy now that my love life was back on track.

Between my thighs there was a pleasant aching that reminded me constantly of our glorious time together… the feel of his cock stretching me open and the way he had pressed little kisses and licks against my thigh before feasting on me.

I still had a goofy grin plastered to my face when I asked the kids to pair up to spar. I called Josh away from the group and said, "I'm sorry for missing training this morning… I was just too exhausted to get up."

He eyed me, shrugging and taking an offensive stance on the opposite side of the blue sparring mat as an offer to fight, "It's cool, he was… interesting.

That he certainly was, I thought to myself, smirking, before attacking him. I had him flat on his back after only a few moments with a kick to the stomach.

"You're stance is still wrong," I corrected, bumping his shoulder playfully before showing him again, "But that was better, come on, once again."

After quite a few defeats, he finally raised his hands in surrender, limping his way over to one of the blue benches to grab a water bottle, "I get it, you beat me, please don't hurt me anymore."

I laughed lightly and took a swig from my own water bottle before I broke the rest of the students off for weight training, "So you have a sister right? Ashley?" I asked to Josh as I stood over him, making sure that the weight wouldn't crush him, were he to drop it.

"Yeah," he answered as he pressed, "well, she's my half-sister, she's older than me. We have the same mom, she's Moroi… mydad's a dhampir and Ashley's is Moroi."

I nodded, "Kind of strange don't you think?"

He made a thinking face, "Yeah, I guess. I really wasn't supposed to happen, but… well… I did happen."

Absentmindedly I nodded. I needed to meet Ashley, get to know her. My biggest problem would be getting her to come back to court with me so that Lissa could change that stupid law. I might have to kidnap her, but seeing as I just got out of jail, doing something else illegal might not be good for me.

Once training was over I stayed behind and put up all the mats and weights. Truthfully I was just looking for an excuse to distract myself from the fact that I wouldn't be able to see Dimitri for another three hours due to his stupid shift, so I carefully arranged the black punching bags and piled the mats on top of each other.

Eventually I gave up, and made my way out of the dreary gym, into the sunlight and walked across campus too the bleak looking guardian quarters where I could lazily wait for Dimitri's return.

Upon entering, I closed the door and stood daintily on the spot for a moment, staring around my room.

It was simple, with generic navy blue drapes and bedspread, a kitchen with white wooden cabinets, a table and two chairs. The bed was rumpled beautifully from our lovemaking and lounging, the bedspread pulled up to disguise the indent out bodies made.

It looked so comfortable. When Dimitri came back I hoped he would take me on it again, and again, but at the moment I wanted to sleep. I dropped my track pants and removed my shirt and sports bra, before climbing into bed. Hopefully when Dimitri came home after work and pulled back the covers to climb in, he would get a nice surprise at seeing my naked body ready and waiting for him.

The sheets were cool to the touch, and the comforting smell of our earlier lovemaking surrounded me as I snuggled down into overstuffed blankets and pillows, falling asleep knowing that later I might wake to the feel of Dimitri's arms around me.

"Adrian!" I exclaimed when he interrupted my nice, dreamless sleep.

He looked so relived and pleased to see me, as though he had been waiting for me to make an appearance, "Nice to see you too, Little dhampir."

I hugged him awkwardly and grinned. We were at the academy, somewhere on the edge of the woods. It was bright and the air felt like warm honey against my skin. The thick trees were green with summer foliage. I was dressed in some jeans and a shirt, Adrian's clothing mimicking mine.

His happy eyes turned serious in a second, going from bright and shining green to something darker, "Listen," he said quickly, "I've been checking in on you for the past day whenever I could but I kept missing you. They figured out what happened and they know the person who was executed wasn't the guy who killed the queen." I didn't grasp what he was saying at first, just staring at him blankly at him as he continued on, "The guardians flew out yesterday while I was passed out from drinking and will be there soon. They still think it's you, Rose. They're coming to bring you back here and have a trial."

Trial. That word snapped me out of whatever daze I was in, "What? But, Adrian, I didn't do it!" I said, outraged, "they can't just pin it right back on me!" then my rationality kicked in, "But… who told them they had the wrong guy?"

He sighed and looked down, pulling his fingers through his tangled scruffy hair, "I was drunk off my ass yesterday and sort of told everyone I compelled him," I gasped and squared my shoulders, ready to tell him off for his idiotic behavior, but before I could start reason caught up to me. I slouched, immediately concerned for Adrian's safety.

"Where are you now?"

"Don't worry," he told me, putting a hand on either of my shoulders, "I'm in hiding, and they aren't looking for me right now, it's you they're after. Get out of there fast: they tracked your transfer records. And get Belikov out of there too, he's in heaps of trouble. And get out quickly!"

I grabbed his hand before the dream started to fade, "Adrian!" he turned back towards me and smiled gently, "thank you so much. Without you I… I don't know where I would be. Probably still stuck at Court."

He smiled, shaking his head, rubbing one of his wrists lightly, "No you would, you would have made it by yourself. You could do anything."

I woke up in a panic. I had to get out of here. Now. It was still only five and I had to find Dimitri and Ashley before the guardians got here.

Rolling off the bed I reached under and found the backpack full of cash, then, I hurried to slip on a shirt, some jeans and a hat, tucking another shirt in the pack.

I glanced around the room again and sighed, looking longingly towards the rumpled, warm bed. Why couldn't I be normal? Why couldn't my amazing boyfriend come home and spend the rest of the day watching movies, eating ramen noodles and making love to me?

I wrote a quick note, in case I didn't find Dimitri before I had to make a break for it, giving him some coded instructions to meet me at his family's house, if he didn't make it back, and left it on the bed, praying to God he found it and not the guardians if they stormed the room. I only hope my vague instructions made sense.

At the door I put on my black and white pumas and was out of the room, not bothering to shut it behind me. I tried to look as inconspicuous as possible, strolling across campus with nothing but the clothes off my back and a backpack with a few thousand dollars stuffed inside.

About half was too the novice dorms I realized that it was dinner time and I should probably head towards the cafeteria, so I turned around and went in that direction. As I guessed, dinner was in full swing. Looking around for Josh I eventually spotted him, sitting at a table with just a few other people.

I made my way towards him. "Hey!" I greeted, stopping beside him, "Can I talk to you for a moment, and you're sister."

He looked at me quizzically, before getting up and crossing the cafeteria to a table full of Moroi girls. They reminded me of the 'bitch' crowd from St. Vladimir's.

Josh said something to one of the girls who threw a disgusted look at him before saying something snarky that made all the girls laugh. He went pink, before saying something else, that made all their laughter die down and their mocking smiles turn to glares.

The girl stood and shook out her hair, wearing silly high heels and dark jeans. She was beautiful, and next to her I felt self-conscious in faded, ripped Salvation Army jeans and an unflattering tee-shirt.

As she moved closer I could see her resemblance to the Dragomirs. Their hair, eyes, and skin were identically colored, and I knew that from the back I wouldn't be able to tell her apart from Liss. Where Lissa looked like her mother, there was no mistaking how similar to Andre and Eric Dragomir, Ashley was. The high eyebrows, the thin lips and round eyes could have made her Andre's twin. It was surprising that Josh and Ashley were brother and sister, he being dark haired and tanned and she so light.

"Ashley," I stuck out my hand to shake hers, "I'm Guardian Hathaway." She glanced disgustedly down at my hand and crossed her arms over her chest, looking away.

Immediately I was flushed with anger. This girl was not going to act like this towards me, or any guardian for that matter. I continued to hold out my hand for her to shake, glaring at her through narrowed eyes. After not saying anything for several moments her light eyes flickered back to mine hesitantly, only for her to draw back slightly from the look of loathing on my face. Glancing down towards my still outstretched hand she tentatively took my hand gently, and I squeezed and gave her whole arm a rough shake.

Her eyes locked with mine and something passed between us; a declaration of our dislike for each other. I'm sure the disgust we held for each other could almost be felt in the air around us. She was one of those people that treated Guardian's like they were shit… and I was one of those people that was to outspoken to let anyone like her near me or my best friend. For a moment I almost considered just saying, "Forget it," and walking off. But… then I reminded myself that Lissa needed this girl… fuck.

Turning back towards the more polite and well-rounded of the siblings, I motioned for them to follow me as I pushed open the red cafeteria doors and walked down the hallway and towards the parking lot, listening to the three pairs of feet piercing the ongoing silence in the hall.

We made our way out the door and started across the grass, almost making it to the front gates when, taking me completely by surprise, several black SUV's made their way around the corner from the edge of the trees. Cursing, I hissed, "Get back!" and pushed the kids behind a clump of bushes, ducking just out of sight after them.

"What the fuck is going on?" Ashley yelled, her voice loud enough to carry to the parking lot, "My shirt!" she gasped, outraged, as I shoved her to the ground, causing her sleeve to snag on a branch and slash. I didn't have the time or patience to apologize, instead just opting to shush her.

From my spot behind the shrubbery, I could peak through a gap in the leaves and see that out of the SUV's came a small army of guardians. As far as I could see all were at least as big as Dimitri and very mean looking, dressed in all black with an assortment of weapons hanging from their belts and across their backs. Once they had all exited the cars the marched towards the gates of the academy, no less than twenty feet away from us. I counted seventeen armed men… most likely coming for me.

I let out a string of swears that surprised even me.

"Hey!" Ashley said loudly, right in my ear, "Guardian whatever your name is! What are you doing!"

My hand flew to her mouth and I covered it immediately. Turning my gaze on her I said harshly, "Shut up."

She looked unaffected by this, almost board in a way, sneering down at me with those perfectly plucked eyebrows arched high in a degrading manor. Only a closer look would revile the tremble in her chin and the glassy look in her eyes that showed just how confused and freaked out she was.

I took a deep breath, this would require a lot of explaining, and frankly I didn't have time, not with the guardians marching through the gates. I looked around quickly and found a more suitable place to hide within ten feet.

"I'll explain later, but right now, we need to get to that line of hedges beside that building without the guardians seeing us." We ended up slithering on our bellies across the grass until we got behind the bushes. Crouching down in the water drainage ditch, I rested my back against the wall, waiting for the guardians to file into the building.

The teens beside me seemed confused, so I took a long breath and addressed Ashley.

"Do you know who your dad is?"

For a moment she didn't respond, only looking shocked for a moment before her eyes narrowed to slits and she glared at me, "What does that have to do with anything!" she spat rather loudly.

I shushed her and glared, looking around to make sure no one had discovered our presence.

I took a deep breath, studying her, looking into those eyes… those eyes that were exactly like Lissa's… that rich, light, grey green.

"I know him," I sighed, "Well, I mean, I knew him… he's… been dead for a while now. I paused for a moment to let my words sink in. Her face had gone blank, shut down, like she had withdrawn into herself to process my words, "But… I also know your sister… Her name is Lissa… Valissa Dragomir, and she really, really needs you right now."

Her head snapped up and her eyes widened, flicking back and forth between mine; searching. Finally after a moment she glared, "Shut up! You're lying!" her normal voice had lowered into something deeper and colder, and for a moment, I wondered whether she was a spirit user and the darkness was plaguing her… but quickly counted it out for its improbability.

"I swear," I told her quickly, "I'm Rose Hathaway, bondmate to the princess, and all I need is to get some blood tests done to prove that you're sisters, and then you can come right back here, or you can go anywhere you want."

"No," she said, shaking her head and backing away from me, "My dad was… he was…"

"A good guy that your mother was really in love with and-" I stopped to think, "What did she feed you? He died before you were born? He was a successful businessman that just left? He was a Mafia boss and wanted to protect you?" I sighed, "His name was Eric Dragomir and he had a wife and kids and what he had with your mom was just a brief affair."

What I was saying was mean, and had probably offended her to a great degree, but I was going to use that to my advantage.

"No!" she said loudly, then huffed and lowered her voice, "He loved my mom! He loved me too! And he had to leave! He's not dead! He's… he's…"

I nodded, "Okay, fine, whatever." I crossed my arms across my chest, "You keep on believing whatever your mom told you, it's probably right… but… I know for a fact, that for the rest of your life you're going to look back on this conversation and wonder whether or not I was telling the truth." She glared, and Josh opened his mouth as if to defend her. "Or…" I started, "I can take you back to court with me… and we can get some blood tests done… and then you can be sure…"

She looked at a loss for words and Josh was fuming beside her, glaring at me with a look of pure, unadulterated loathing.

Ashley looked as though she was still deciding… but I was pretty sure I knew what the verdict was, "Alright then!" I rocked forward on the balls of my feet and peaked over the edge of the bushes, "to get the hell out of here…"

And then I realized something… something that could greatly decrease the likelihood of our escape…

I didn't have a car.

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If you could please review that would be nice (feel free to give me pointers… but don't be too harsh please!)