I

stared up at the cobwebs that dangle from my cell's ceiling. Like there was much else to do in this never ending silence. The silence scared me. It made me cold to the touch. All I could hear were the chilling breaths made by the guardians outside of my cell. I wasn't sure how long I had been in here, but maybe knowing the time it was would help me indicate that. I looked down at my wrist and had remembered that they had taken that away. Idiots.

"What time is it?" I asked, not really caring who answered as long I got an answer.

"Um, I'm not sure. You have a long way to go before you are out of here, so why does it matter?" His voice was hard.

I hated the truth in his words. Why did it matter? I'm doomed for death no matter what. Weather they convict me, or I get set free. I'm going to die. The more that I think about death, it doesn't seem that bad. Maybe it's great. Yes, definitely great. Peaceful. At this point, all I wanted to do was die. Leave this body and feel relieved in bliss. Leave my probl- wait. How could I contemplate dying! Lissa needs me! The note seemed to burn in my pocket. Feeling like it weighed one thousand pounds. I needed to hurry and not waste anymore time in my quest. It came naturally to harass the guardians outside my cell until one of them would let me contact someone.

"Hey, um can I ask for something?" I tried to ask the question in my most angelic voice. Though I'm sure I really didn't because of my mood.

This time I looked up at him, to see his back towards me and his face looking at the wall. He hesitated to answer me, so apparently he was giving it some thought.

"Well Guardian Hathaway, I suppose you can depending on what it is that you want."

Wait guardian? That was really weird considering that I was on trial for the murder of Queen Tatiana. Well I could ask about that later. Right now I need to focus on Lissa.

"What if I want to see Vasilissa Dragomir?" He shot me a smile.

"Of course, but seeing under the circumstances, she will be heavily guarded. Also she will ha- yes of course. Send her down." In the middle of his rant, he put his hand on the ear piece attached to a wire that ran down his shirt.

"Well Guardian Hathaway, it seems that she is up at the front desk asking to see you. She was told to head down here."

That made me smile. Even though I had only been in jail for a few hours, it felt like it had been days. Lissa needed a spot on the council and I wasn't going to let something small like me being in jail for a crime I didn't commit get in my way. As time passed, I couldn't help but wonder what was going on outside of these cold, stone walls. What were people saying? Though the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it didn't matter. People could be saying I had grown another limb, but in the end the gossip and rumors that used to trouble my life became insignificant. Or at least compared to what was happening now. I kept going on like this until something interrupted my deep thoughts.

Rose? Can you hear me? I'm almost there.

I heard Lissa through the bond, her voice thick with concern. I wish I could comfort her, but the one-way bond prevented me from answering her. I found it funny how here I am, in jail for a crime I didn't commit, and I am still the one who's comforting her. I guess I could say that was the way it was always going to be. With that I decided to enter her head. It wasn't hard considering there was already a strong force pulling me into her. She was on the elevator on ground floor. She stared up at the numbers on the top of the elevator door, watching them go from level one down to -3 where my cell was located. I left her head in a happy note, and awaited her arrival. It wasn't long before she was standing in front of my cell.

"Hey, Liss." I tried to sugarcoat my words, trying to calm her in a subtle way.

"ROSE! You don't know how happy I am to see you! Everybody says that you killed the queen! Oh, Rose you know I don't believe them right? Don't worry I won't let them convict you they'll…..they'll…." she began sobbing. And I couldn't resist the urge to comfort her.

"Liss," I interrupted her.

"Don't worry. Nothing is going to happen to me." I threw up my best façade, hoping she would by it. I probably looked convincing because I tried so hard to believe that. I wanted nothing more than to believe that I would be okay. But as of now I did have to be okay. Lissa needed me, and I was sucked out of my thoughts by Lissa's sniffles. I thrust myself up against the bars so fast that I could see even the guardians flinch. I snaked my hand through the bars to caress Lissa's face. I couldn't neglect seeing the guardians stiffen.

"Rose, I'm sorry but you need to keep your distance from the princess." I scrutinized the guardian that said that. And apparently Lissa did the same.

"She won't hurt me." Lissa spat between sobs.

"I know Princess Dragomir, but I think the other guardians are going to drop dead with a heart attack" he arranged a smirk on his face. I could now accurately make an assumption on his age. Twenty five? Twenty six? I didn't really care though. Glancing over at the other guardians I could see why he was smirking. All of the other guardians seemed to be in their late forties and early fifties. They were in fantastic shape though and it knocked about ten years of them. I smirked too but not for the same reason that the other one had for. I thought it was funny how they thought that I killed the queen, and left me with the crappy, old ones that nobody wanted. Good thing I wasn't really a killer otherwise they would be dead, and I would be gone. Even now I bet I could take them, but once I got out was the problem I had no plan. And I was in the guardian building. There was at least one hundred scattered around in here. No I couldn't to this alone. I would need help. A lot of help. I listened to the guardian and stepped back.

"Rose, you don't need to-" I cut Lissa off.

"Yeah, it's not like that. Um Lissa I need your help."

Lissa stared at me analyzing me.

"Sure, Rose anything what is it?"

I really didn't want to get Lissa involved. She still had a shot at being queen. I couldn't take that away.

"Can you get me Belikov?" I asked.

"Of course. Um, bye." Her eyes were still ringed with red and she wouldn't stop looking at me. I looked up knowing that if I kept looking at her I would crack. I knew she was gone when I could hear he sniffles fade down the hallway, ending with the same creaky door.

I waited for Guardian Belikov's arrival, unwilling to say Dimitri. I missed him so much. I missed his warm touch and those big brown eyes. He was my life, my life that had slipped though my fingers. He didn't love me anymore, or at least he said he didn't. But if he was lying he did not let anything slip through his guardian façade. I could have kept pondering in my sorrow, but I couldn't let that interrupt my mission. And right now, my only reason for living.