Heey!

This is my first time writing for this type of thing, and I hope you like. I know this being my first time might put you off, but please keep reading...

And yes, this is a little shorter than what is usually on here, but I was just hoping to grab your attention and find out if it is good enough to keep me going.

So thankyou :)

And Remember to Review, tell me what you think!

Cheers, zoe.

I was completely alone in the brightly lit forest surrounding St. Vladmir's Academy. I was safe from any Strigois needing, wanting, to feed right now.

I set off down the rugged trail that headed deeper into the thickening vegetation, hoping to find any hint of where the repulsive ones who captured Dimitri, my Dimitri, were headed.

Dimitri. I sighed. I would never have thought that I would have to kill my former mentor, my former lover. It would be the most challenging, most emotional experience I would ever have to face.

But I knew I could do it. I had to. If I didn't there would be so many Moroi, humans, and maybe even Dhampir, that would lose their lives to a Strigoi. The Strigoi that used to be my Dimitri.

But what if I couldn't bring myself to do it? What if I could only see the Dimitri that I loved, the one who comforted me in my few moments of doubt? If I couldn't see the monster that he'd become, how could I kill him?

I thought these things over as I walked deeper and deeper into the forest. With all those questions running through my mind, I hadn't thought of what my plan would be. I didn't even know where I was headed until I reached it. The caves.

As soon as I saw the entrance to the cave, I instantly felt a shiver through my spine. That was the last place I saw Dimitri. That was where that damned blond Strigoi captured him and bit into his flesh. That image was the last image I had of him, completely defenseless. He looked just like a boy, looking up at me with his pleading eyes. And even the memory of him like that brought tears to my—

No. I had to stop thinking like that and focus on my plan. My plan, which I had yet to make.

I glanced around the cave, wondering if there was even any evidence that there had been a clash between Dhampirs, Moroi and Strigoi. There was absolutely nothing, apart from the pile of rocks in the middle of the cave.

And that's when I saw him. My Dimitri. Alive, standing.

I ran to him, too shocked to remember that he shouldn't be here. As I got there, he reached up a hand to signal for me to stop.

And that's when I really saw him.

He looked terrible. His long, normally smooth hair was wispy and all out of the usual pulled back style. His beautiful face had many scars and bruises on it. His expression was painful to look at, it was that depressed. Something was definitely wrong with him, and I couldn't stand not knowing what it was.

"Oh, Dimitri, What happened to you?" I asked with so much compassion that on any ordinary day I would have gagged.

Dimitri didn't reply. He just looked even more troubled. And then he pointed to the wall.

I quickly turned my head so that I could see what he was pointing to. At first glance I would have only thought it was just a scratch mark from the fight that went on three days ago. But as I looked more closely I realized what it was. I gasped.

"No, it couldn't be!" I practically shrieked. On the cave wall was a list, almost identical to the one that was found in the basement of the shopping mall Mason, Eddie, Mia, Christian and I invaded in search of Strigois. Exactly the same letters in exactly the same order. D B C O T D V L D Z S. The same dashes next to the same letters. There was only one difference. The one minor, yet significant difference that turned my world upside-down.