Hi everyone, so this is the first chapter of a new story I will be writing. It is set just after the attack on the Academy in Shadow-kiss, except no one is taken, meaning that they do not go to the caves, and Dimitri is not turned! I've really wanted to write a story set in Siberia, but didn't want to do the typical 'Love Fades' one, so I thought I would give this a go. I'm thinking it will be written in both Rose and Dimitri's point of views. I really hope you like it!

Rose's Point of View.

The attack on the Academy had shaken everyone. I was on my way back from the cabin with Dimitri when I had the worst feeling roll over me, it happened to be Strigoi breaking through the Academy's wards.

The guardians managed to kill the majority of the Strigoi that attacked us; I killed a whole lot of them too, with the help of Christian Ozera, who I was guarding at the time. The rest of the Strigoi fled the grounds before the sun came up. Luckily, they didn't take anyone with them. They did, however, leave bodies behind. At least 10 guardians were killed in the attack.

It had been two days since the attack. There had been no other signs of Strigoi, but everyone was on high alert, and the whole Academy was on lockdown. Although a lot of the royal Moroi students had already left, to go to court to be with their families.

It had also been two days since I lost my virginity, to Dimitri Belikov, my mentor. That's what we were doing in the cabin when I felt the Strigoi coming. He had taken me there to calm me down after I'd taken the darkness from Lissa which is caused by Spirit. It had sent me into a sort of frenzy, I'd wanted to kill Jesse Zeklos, he did deserve it, but I'm kind of glad I didn't get my hands on him. And so Dimitri and I had finally given in to each other, it had been building for some time.

The remaining students that were still staying at the Academy had been called to the great hall for an assembly, about what, I don't know yet. I met Lissa, Christian and Eddie outside the doors so we could sit together. Adrian had left yesterday to be with his family at Court.

Alberta and Headmistress Kirova were standing at the front of the hall, waiting for everyone to take their seats. Guardians were standing around the edge of the room, standing to attention, Dimitri was among them. My eyes are always drawn to him as I enter a room, I always find him looking back at me. We hadn't really had chance to discuss what had happened between us yet.

Once everyone was seated, Kirova cleared her throat, efficiently silencing everyone in the room. 'We have called you all here today to discuss arrangements for the next few weeks. Although we are confident that there will not be another Strigoi attack, we want to ensure that we are best equipped if there is another, and that everyone is as safe as possible over the next few months. And so we have very carefully made the decision to send every student away from the Academy, until after the New Year. Arrangements will be made for you to stay with your families in Court, or in another equally safe place.' After the New Year? Its November now, what the hell am I going to do for the next two months? There's no way I can spend all that time with my Mum, wherever she may be.

'Do not fear, arrangements have been made for each and every one of you, no matter what your circumstances. You will be provided with your information as you leave the room, although most of you know where you are going.' She dismissed us then.

I was expecting Lissa to be more nervous about where she would be going, after the death of her parents and brother, she, like me, didn't really have a permanent home other than the Academy. But when I delved a little deeper into her mind, I found that she would be staying with Christian and his Aunt until we would be coming back. She was slightly worried about where I would be going though, as was I.

As I was about to leave the hall, I heard my name and a light hand was placed on my arm to get my attention. I turned to see Alberta's face looking at me. She pulled me to the edge of the room where Dimitri joined us. This wasn't looking good.

Alberta didn't waste any time, and got straight to the point. 'Rose, I'm sure you are wondering where you will be spending the next two months. We considered sending you to Court along with some of the other Novices, but came to the conclusion that you would perhaps be better off staying with Guardian Belikov.' She nodded towards Dimitri, who remained still; this clearly wasn't new information to him.

She saw that I looked confused, and continued. 'Guardian Belikov is taking annual leave for the next two months, and is going back to Russia. We agreed that it would be in your best interest for you to join him there. That way, he can keep up with your training, as well as keep an eye on you.' This whole thing sounded weird to me, why would they agree to this?

I'm not going to complain; going to Baia would be much better than spending months at Court alone and bored. 'And Dimitri has agreed to this?' I asked, sceptically.

Alberta and Dimitri both nodded. 'Yes, he agreed it would be beneficial too.' I nodded. 'When are we leaving?' I asked him, speaking directly to him this time.

'Tomorrow, we have to stay tonight for the Molnija ceremony.' The word made my hand subconsciously wonder to the back of my neck, where I already had two tattoos, representing the two lives I had taken, Strigoi lives.

We discussed arrangements for a while longer before I was dismissed. Lissa, Christian and Eddie were waiting for me outside the hall. I explained that I would be going away with Dimitri. Lissa was excited for me; she was worried I would have to be alone for the next few months. She was also upset that we wouldn't get to spend Christmas together, but considering the circumstances, it didn't seem like such a big deal to me.

I also found out that Eddie would be staying at Court, but that his brother, who is a guardian, is being stationed there, so at least he would get to spend time with him and wouldn't be on his own. I would really miss Eddie, we had formed a closer relationship since the death of our best friend, Mason, and we both felt the need to protect each other, even more so than before.

Lissa sent me away shortly to pack and prepare for the Molnija ceremony which would be taking place tonight. Wow, a lot had changed in just a few short days.

So there we have Chapter 1. Sorry if it's a bit boring, I was mainly just trying to set the scene for the rest of the story. I'm planning on writing a lot of cute little scenes between Rose and Dimitri, as well as a lot of tension, I'm also really looking forward to writing more in Dimitri's point of view, as I haven't done much of that yet! Please, please let me know what you think, and feel free to suggest any ideas or improvements that you think could help, I really like to know what you guys think! Thanks so much for reading!