I began this story over two years ago but lost interest in it. I decided that I wanted to continue it but am going to start again. For those who have encouraged me to do this, thanks. It is because of you that I have the confidence to do this again.

DISCLAIMER: If I owned Vampire Academy, would I really need to write fanfics? Just saying :P The wonderful Richelle Mead owns everything except the plot. That's all mine.

"Lissa, Christian move!" I ducked as the Strigoi we were fighting threw Eddie away. He hit the brick wall of the alley and slid down, slumping at the bottom of the wall, unconscious. Well I hoped he was unconscious, just thinking about anything else caused white terror to course through me.

The Strigoi moved towards where Lissa and Christian. That was his second mistake- his first being going after Eddie rather than me.

Moving swiftly, I tried a surprise attack while the Strigoi's attention was focused on the two Moroi. His sensitive hearing heard me coming up behind him and he turned to deflect my oncoming punch. Before I was able to get in another move the Strigoi was rolling on the ground shrieking in pain, his head encased in fire.

I didn't hesitate before pulling out my stake and ramming it into his heart, making sure not to remove it until the Strigoi lay unmoving. I heard a gasp behind me and turned just in time to see Christian collapse. It takes a lot out of a Moroi to use magic, and to use the amount of power that Christian had would leave him weak for a few days.

I looked around to make sure that no other Strigoi were lurking around the corner before checking on both Eddie and Christian.

We had been coming back from one of Lissa's late lectures when the Strigoi attacked. I had been on edge since the first roll of nausea had hit me, so the first attack hadn't been a surprise. Eddie and I were able to quickly take him down without any serious injuries. The second Strigoi had come up behind Eddie as I was removing my stake from the dead Strigoi on the ground.

The nausea that I felt around the Strigoi was gone but after being surprised once tonight I wasn't about to let my guard down. Deciding that it was safe I made my way over to see if Lissa and Christian were alright. They come first. As I was walking I pulled out my phone and dialled.

"Sydney speaking"

"Hey Sydney, it's Rose."

"Where are you and how many?" That made it easy .I liked that I had such a badass reputation. It made my job easier when working with the other guardians. I relayed the details and hung up after it was confirmed that someone would be over soon to clean up. After I had graduated I had found out about the Alchemists, people who help to get rid of dead Strigoi and keep the world of the Moroi a secret from the humans. They were also notorious for their hatred of us, thinking us evil creatures of the dead. Sydney was one of them; she had also surprisingly become a good friend.

Eddie's groaning pulled my attentions away from my musings and I rushed over to him.

"Eddie, can you hear me? Are you okay?"

I felt a hand on my shoulder and felt a wave of calm wash over me. Lissa was trying to calm me down and move me out of the way. Under any other circumstances I would never have thought of moving, but I wanted to get back to the house as quickly as possible, especially if there were any more Strigoi lurking around.

I felt a feeling of unbelievable happiness come over me and I knew Lissa was using her abilities that Spirit gave her to heal Eddie. Through the bond that we share I was able to feel Lissa's emotions and thoughts. The magic only took a few minutes to work but that feeling was enough to make me wish that it would never go away.

...

We managed to get home without any more trouble, though it took longer than I was comfortable with. Eddie had been healed but he was still weak and needed help walking. I didn't relax until we were past the wards that the queen had put around the house for extra protection.

The house was dark as we walked in. Lissa went to switch on the light but someone beat her to it making me automatically go back into guardian mode. It seemed my guardian skills were getting a workout today. The feeling of nausea hadn't returned so I knew it wasn't Strigoi waiting for us, but that didn't mean that it couldn't be something else just as dangerous.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Alberta was standing in the middle of our lounge room. She was the person who had flicked on the light.

"Hey! Alberta, sorry. Rough night." I walked over and gave her a quick hug. After the attack on the academy a few years ago, Alberta and I had become close. Having recently been reassigned she was now working for the queen.

With a look of understanding on her face, her eyes swept over everyone. She turned back to me.

"How many were there?" I didn't have to ask what she meant.

"Two. The second was a surprise." She gave a brisk nod and moved to sit back down.

"Well this makes things simpler." She looked towards Lissa, "Princess, the Queen has requested you visit the Court. She has some things to discuss with you."

"What kinds of things?" Lissa asked instantly suspicious.

"I am sorry Princess, but I do not know. However, due to today's events both Rose and Eddie will be able to accompany you to Court, as will Christian." She stood from her place on the chair and moved towards the door. She looked towards me and gave me another nod. I understood that it meant that we would have to talk tomorrow about what happened today, something that I was fine with. Right now I had to prepare to go to the Royal Court, the one place I tried to avoid as much as possible.

Both Eddie and Christian looked unhappy at the upcoming trip but Lissa looked resigned. I could feel through our bond that she had mixed feelings about going, the dominant one being confusion and apprehension about what the queen wanted to talk to her about. Excitement over seeing some of the friends she had there, and worry over what I would think about having to go to Court were a close second. The latter was what really caught my attention.

"Hey Liss, it's alright. Do you want help packing?"

She studied me for a few moments before deciding that I was being sincere, which I was. The worry vanished replaced by eagerness. She really wanted to go now that she knew I wasn't going to say anything.

"Thanks for the offer Rose, but you need to pack too. Christian will help me." She grabbed Christian's arm and dragged him up to their room to pack. I couldn't help but laugh at Christian's face. He really didn't want to go tomorrow; he disliked Court almost as much as I did. Eddie still seemed to be having some trouble so I went over to him and helped him up the stairs. I could see in his face that he was going to say something and I had a feeling I knew what it was.

"Don't even say it Eddie. It wasn't your fault. The second Strigoi surprised us both and that is exactly what I will tell everyone. So don't apologise."

I left him at his door before he could give a retort and became lost in my thoughts of the following days as I walked to my room.

I wasn't in the mood to pack so I grabbed all my clothes and put them in a bag with a few other things, then took a quick shower before climbing into bed. I was tired, especially after having to fight the two Strigoi, but I couldn't seem to fall asleep. My head was too full of questions. What were the Strigoi after? Why were there two? Was it simply a random attack? I suspected that there was more to what happened today, but I was too tired to work it out. What did the queen want to discuss with Lissa? In my mind I was able to come up with many different scenarios, each worse than the one before.

This continued throughout the night until I felt Lissa's connection through our bond, sending me calming feelings and I was finally able to fall asleep.

...

The next morning was hectic with last minute packing and I could feel a headache forming. By the time we reached the airport we were already running late. We had our own private plane so once we were on board it was just a matter of minutes before we took off. Once in the air, I had to concentrate on keeping my headache at bay and keeping my barriers up so that the ghosts wouldn't decide to give me a visit.

Part of the bond that I had with Lissa meant that I was shadowkissed. Lissa had healed me in the same way that she healed Eddie yesterday, the only exception being that I was already dead. Lissa had brought me back to life, literally. A few years ago I had learnt that a part of being shadowkissed meant that while I was outside the wards I was able to see ghosts. Actual ghosts, as in people who had died and were hanging around for some reason only known to them. The barrier in my mind that I put up stopped them from showing when I didn't want any sudden visitors.

I was relieved when we finally landed. I could feel the energy change when we passed through the Court's wards and my headache suddenly disappeared. Grateful for the release of pain, I just wanted to find the gym. A good, long workout was exactly what I needed to get rid of all my excess energy that the flight and my mixed feelings about returning here had caused within me.

After seeing that Lissa and Christian made it to their room alright, I went and put my bags in my room, quickly got changed and started making my way over to the gym. On the way I noticed that there were more people around than usual, both Moroi and guardians alike. I shrugged it off as a matter for later and started moving at a faster pace towards the gym.

After I was assigned to Lissa, I got used to travelling, searching for other Spirit users that she could learn from. I was used to finding my own methods to train and to keep in shape. A lot of the places we went to didn't have gyms, so when I walked through the doors of this one I was speechless. I had been here before but it looked like a major upgrade had taken place.

It was huge. There was a running track, sparring mats, practice dummies, gym machines, and an assorted set of practice weapons all in the one room. Feeling excited, I didn't know where to start.

I had just finished my laps and had begun my stretches when I heard someone enter through a side door. I was too caught up with what I was doing to take much notice. Getting up, I headed towards where the weapons were laid out only to see that someone was already there. Rather than disturb them I changed directions and went to the machines.

"Rose?"

I froze. I knew that voice. Even if it had been three years since I had last heard it. I turned slowly to face the person who had called my name, hoping that I was wrong.

I wasn't.

There he was in all his glory. The love of my life. The man who had picked another woman over me.

Dimitri.