Aloha everyone! I know I haven't updated this story in so long, but I've been really caught up with assignments so I hope you forgive me! This chapter is sort of short and boring, but its sort of a filler chapter. :)

I want to thank Ryan (lilmissryry) for proofreading all my stories, and I know I don't usually do this, but I want to make a dedication. Without you two, this story would never have gone on:

This chapter is dedicated to Redheadtress because I'm using your idea for this chapter. And deliciouse for practically giving me a whole new story line that I will go with. Love you both!

And sorrry again for the long wait, but here's chapter six:

The day went by quickly, and before I knew it, it was almost night time once again. It was 10:30 vampire time, so I decided to hit the gym. I needed to get my mind off things, and punching a few dummies, pretending to hear their blood-curling scream while staking them, was a good way to relax. But I really needed to forget about that bracelet. It was probably just a fling and I had more important things to think about. Like what Izobela and Dimitri had talked about a few days ago. I still hadn't found out anything about that, but I was planning to.

I threw my bag on the floor and did a few stretches. I was completely unaware of my surroundings when the doors opened. I turned my head, and surprisingly saw Dimitri and Izobela walking in. I lifted my eyebrow - well, at least tried to - and stood up.

Izobela saw me and smiled, showing her white baby teeth. Then, she ran and jumped into my arms. I smiled back down at her, and stroked her semi-long hair.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" I asked, looking up at Dimitri as he walked towards us.

"She couldn't sleep," he answered. "And apparently you couldn't either. So I asked her if she wanted to come watch me fight. But don't worry, I'll get her back to bed right after we're done."

I nodded and put her down. "Alright, Izzy. But you have to stay over there, okay?" I pointed to an area near the treadmills where I could watch her.

Izobela pouted and turned to Dimitri. "You promised me you would teach me how to fight!"

I quickly looked up at Dimitri and he gave me a sorrowful look. Izobela was only three, and no way would she be learning how to fight so quickly, especially at a young age.

"Dimitri..." I drifted off hesitantly.

He seemed to read my mind and nodded. "Izobela," he started. "I'm not so sure about that ... but I promise I'll teach you when you're older."

Izobela frowned and did the cutest thing ever when she wanted something. It was like her version of a puppy-dog face. Her bottom lip extended and quivered slightly, and her big chocolatey brown eyes got even bigger. And if it wasn't even possible, she tried to make herself smaller by scrunching her shoulders inward. Then she made her eyes water a little. It was something I never could do, and doubted Dimitri could do. I always gave into this face, but I wasn't going to take an answer for it.

"Mama..." she whispered in a little voice.

I shook my head and bit my lip. She made her eyes bigger, then faced Dimitri. He was stunned at first, then looked up at me with a weak expression. I bit the inside of my cheek and sighed. "Okay, fine." I gave in. "But don't teach her how to throw direct punches. Next thing you know, she'll be punching all the guys who annoy her at school, like her mother."

Dimitri gave us a half-smile, then took Izobela's hand. "Don't worry, Rose. I'll teach her to be more controlling."

I smirked, then left them to have their little training session. I punched a few dummies and practiced my staking for about an hour, when I finally dared myself to look at the clock. I put my stake back in my pocket and walked towards Dimitri and Izobela. They were making progress, I had to say. Dimitri was teaching her all the fighting stances and how to block. I smiled to myself. She was like a mini version of me at the Academy a few years back. When Dimitri was still my mentor, and I thought that my life was perfect. Until that very day he told me he was leaving. It was like I never knew what had hit me.

*Flashback*

Beep! Beep! Beep!

I hit the snooze button on my alarm. Five more minutes of sleep wouldn't be so bad. Dimitri wouldn't mind, and it's not like I've ever been on time for our training sessions.

But then there was a knock on my door. I groaned, then slipped on my slippers before groggily opening the door. On the other side was a freshmen boy. I didn't know his name, but I'd seen him around campus. He was holding an envelope.

"What do you want?" I sneered.

He flinched. Ah, so this boy is afraid of me. He's heard the rumors. Props to me.

"I-I have a-a letter f-for you," he whispered, stumbling after every word.

I rolled my eyes and took the letter from his hand, slamming the door directly in his face. I heard a squeak and fast footsteps fade away from my dorm. I flipped the white envelope over, and in very familiar handwriting, scrawled in black ink, was: "Rose". Huh, maybe he wanted to cancel practice after all. Maybe he wanted me to meet him in his room so we could plan our romantic getaway.

I opened the letter eagerly and unfolded the paper.

Dear Rose,

I'm sorry that you have to find out this way, and I don't really know how to tell you this. But I want to let you know that I love you. I always have, and I always will. What we have together is special, and you're the only one for me, Roza. Please take my word when I say this, but what happened in the cabin the other day was wrong. As much as I love you, we can't be together. I'm afraid that I'm just another distraction from you being the greatest guardian in history, guarding Lissa. As guardians, we have to put the Moroi before ourselves, and I hope you and I, out of all the other dhampirs, understand that.
We have to both be strong about this, so I've decided to take on the job of being Natasha Ozera's guardian. I know you don't like her, but I believe she's the only way so I will not come back to the Academy for you. Please promise me that you'll train your hardest and live up to your standards of becoming the best guardian ever. Take care of Lissa and say goodbye for me. And take care of yourself, Roza. You'll always have my heart.

I know this will be hard, so I promise you that you'll never see me again. It will be like I've never existed. Live your life like nothing happened. And promise me that you won't come looking for me. Stay with your friends, because they care for you. Hopefully you'll understand why I'm doing this. I want the best for you. You'll always be in my heart and I'll never forget you.

I love you,

D

I looked up from the letter in tears. How could he do this to me? He had my heart and shredded it into pieces. But maybe it wasn't too late.

I shoved the letter in the back of my sweatpants and stormed to the guardian dorms. Once I got in front of Dimitri's room, I pounded on it furiously. Nobody answered.

I wiped away my angry tears furiously and ran to the gym. But instead of Dimitri waiting, Alberta was.
"Hathaway," she barked. "Ten minutes late. Fifteen laps."

I threw my hair back from my face and wiped away more hot tears from the depths of my cheek. "Where's Dimitri?" I demanded through tears.

Alberta gave me a weird look, then stepped forward. "Guardian Belikov? Thought he told you already. He left. Now, why are you crying?"

I squeezed my eyes shut, then sniffed. "When did he leave?"

"I'm not sure if he left yet, but I just met him in the main office. He was just there to sort out a few more papers. I don't know what the meaning of this is, but-"

I ran out of the gym and headed towards the main office. He's still here, I tried to convince myself. No way would he leave after this.

I threw the doors open and was welcomed by an empty room. I walked up to the reception desk and asked, "Is Guardian Belikov here?"

The lady looked up at me. "Sorry, Miss Hathaway. You just missed him. He's probably on his way to the gates."

I swallowed and turned back, starting for the entrance and exit of the school. Running while crying my heart out was hard. But it was worth it, because I saw a tall figure looming towards the gates. I crossed my arms and walked over to him, tears falling faster then ever.

"So you're leaving. Just like that," I whispered, loud enough for him to hear.

He swiveled around and sighed, putting his bags down. "Rose," he addressed. "I thought you read the letter. I don't want you to come after me, or try to convince me to stay."

"I'm not convincing you to stay," I said abruptly. "But do you really want to leave, right after you told me you loved me multiple times and told me that you'd never leave me? And don't even say this is for the best. Because I know what's best for me, and this isn't it."

Dimitri opened his mouth to say something, but then closed his mouth.

"And a letter?" I asked. "I thought you'd be more serious about this, comrade. It would've been better if you said it to my face."

"It would've been hard to say goodbye," he finally said.

"This isn't wrong, Dimitri," I said. "What we had together was special, and you're just going to drop everything like nothing happened."

He stepped closer to me. "Please, Rose. You have to accept this. I want you to be focused on Lissa, not me. What we did in the cabin was amazing, I'll give you that. But it was wrong."

I shivered slightly at his words and wiped away a tear that was escaping my eye. "I thought that if I could have one thing in my life", I whispered, "it would be you. But apparently not."

He was silent for a moment before taking a deep breath and leaning down towards me. Then, for what felt like the last time, he pressed his warm lips on my forehead. His lips pondered there for a moment before releasing me and picking up his bags.

"Goodbye, Roza," he said, turning away and heading out of the Academy. Out of my life. And without looking back.

*End of flashback*

"Rose," Dimitri said, snapping me out of my trance.

"Huh?" I asked.

"It's getting late. Almost midnight. I think we should get going."

"Oh, okay," I agreed, walking towards Izobela. A thin line of sweat covered her forehead and she smiled crookedly at me.

"Mama, Daddy told me you used to train with him."

I looked up at Dimitri before looking back down at her. "It's true, angel. He taught me everything I know," I answered softly. "But we have to go now, okay?"

"Can we do something before we leave?" she asked innocently.

"Sure, Izzy. What is it?"

She looked between me and Dimitri and smiled. "Can I watch you fight together?"

I lifted my head and met Dimitri's eyes. It had been forever since we had fought together. Almost four years. And it's not like I haven't been wondering if he'd gotten any better or if there's still a chance I could pin him down.

"What do you say, comrade?" I teased. "Just like old times."

He grinned, then stepped forward. "Let's do it."

We took our fighting stances and Izobela clapped, then went over to the corner of the gym to watch.
We circled each other, waiting to see who would make the first move. It was usually me, but I wanted to prove to him that I was just as good as before.

He threw a punch at me but I ducked smoothly. I tried to kick him in the stomach but he knew beforehand and was on the other side of me in a flash. I swerved to my left and tried to knock him off his feet, but he jumped and grabbed my arm. I elbowed him and landed a punch on his side. But of course, being the god he was, he didn't flinch.

He grabbed my outstretched arm and twisted it behind me. I winced, but I wasn't going to lose that easy. I used my other arm and punched him backwards, which made him stumble back and release me. I kicked out and knocked him off his feet. He was on the ground, so I attacked him and straddled him. But he had us switched in a second and was on top of me, holding my arms to my sides. Then, he pointed his finger at me and declared me "dead".

"Looks like I can still pin you down," he gloated.

I rolled my eyes. "I was holding back since Izobela's in the room. But it felt good sparring with you again."

He looked deep into my eyes before smiling. "You too."

We just stayed like that for what seemed like forever, until I realized he was still on top of me. He seemed to notice that too, and got of me in a flash. Izobela ran over to us.

"That was fun!" she grinned like a maniac. "Will I get to fight like that when I'm older?"

I laughed. "You're going to be the best guardian ever. Now let's get home."

We all made it back home in one piece. After we kissed Izobela goodnight, we went downstairs where Lissa, Christian, and Tasha, but mostly Lissa, were watching Gossip Girl. We decided to join them.

"So, what's going on again?" Christian asked confused.

Lissa groaned. "How many times do I have to tell you! Blair broke up with Nate, but, like, right after that, she had sex with Chuck in the limo, and Chuck is Nate's best friend!"

"Get a clue, Christian," I joked, flopping down on one of the couches.

"Drama is so out of my league," he muttered, turning back towards the TV.

"Everything's out of you league," Tasha teased, bumping Christian's arm. She was looking at a catalogue for baby clothing and seemed fascinated at everything that she found.

"You never told us, Tasha," I started. "Who's the lucky man who gets to be the father of your baby?"

Tasha smiled warmly at me. "This dhampir named Alex. I met him a few months ago. I'd love for all of you to meet him. But you'll have to give me some advice on babies, Rose. I don't think I'll be a good mother like you."

I grinned. Tasha was nice. Especially since now I knew that the father wasn't Dimitri.

"Another episode!" Christian groaned. "What is this, a marathon or something?"

"Yes, actually it is," Lissa replied, crossing her legs. "But don't worry, I'll guide you through everything. Okay, first Serena left for boarding school in Connecticut because she had an affair with Nate, who is Blair's-"

"Keep up the good work tormenting Sparky, Liss," I said. Tasha and Dimitri were in deep conversation about something boring, so I decided to close my eyes. Like I said before, a few minutes of shut-eye wouldn't hurt.

But not before I heard a scream from upstairs.