Everything seemed to fall apart for Rose. Dimitri doesn't want her, Lissa spends all of her time with Dimitri, and even Adrian is going back to her old ways so she leaves the court with her new assignment that isn't Lissa. When Rose's assignment is sent to court for business she runs to the life that she left behind. Has everyone moved on without her?

3698 hours and 13 seconds.

3698 hours and 13 seconds that I haven't seen my best friend, since I left everything behind, since I felt unwanted.

3698 hours and 13 seconds since my best friend started spending all of her time with the love of my life, the love that I had gone to the ends of the earth to find him and make him the man that he was destined to be.

My best friend, Vasilisa Dragomir, was the sun and I seemed to orbit around her. We met in kindergarten when she was the shy girl and I was the rebellious one. From the start there was a certain connection that I felt towards her and as we grew not only did our friendship grow but so did our friendship and our sisterhood. I could've literally died for her and it's not because she brought me back to life in an accident that killed her family. No. It was because I grew up with her and she was the sister I never had. Hell, she was the family I never had.

My mother, Janine Hathaway, neglected me my whole life although she had a few surprised visits here and there. For years I hated her for abandoning me, leaving my in the care of the academy to raise me but when a wise man, my mentor and love of my life, Dimitri Beilkov, pointed out we were alike in many ways. For one, I looked like her, like most children resemble their parents, obviously. Secondly, we had a sense of dedication, we both looked at what we wanted and wanted to keep it no matter what. We are hard workers and when we set our minds to something, there was nothing in the world that could make us change our minds. We are Hathaway women like that.

Now for my father, that is a different story, let's just say that I had no idea what he looked like until my recent adventure to find the love of my life, which turned Strigoi, the evil undead of the night, in Russia. My father followed me and believed it was because someone hired him to keep an eye on me since I was practically on a suicidal mission but it turns out that the old man had a heart and he was keeping tabs on me because I was his daughter.

While in Russia, I had discovered something unusual. Somehow there was a rumor about it was possible to bring a Strigoi back to its original state but most seem to dismiss it due to the fact that there were no such thing as bringing things back from the dead but little did the world know, that is how I'm alive now. By Spirit.

Spirit is a rare, highly unheard of element that allows the person who possesses it to bring stuff back to life but I really don't know why it didn't click to me why if we bring a person back from the undead we really couldn't bring a person from the living undead.

Any who, my life seemed to be a rollercoaster and there is so much that I can take before I literally go insane, thanks to the side effect to being bonded to a spirit user.

I had left my best friend once because the love of my life turned into an evil undead creature of the night. We unintentionally promised each other some time ago before all of this crazy mess ever happened that we would personally go and kill each other. We would rather be dead than a vampire that lived on sucking away at an innocent human life. It wasn't promise that was thought of often but when we started falling in love with each other, the fear became existent in my thoughts. What if, what if I lost him but some small voice in the back of my head told me that he would be finding since he was a kickass guardian with kickass skills.

The little voice was wrong, on a rescue mission to save some students from a Strigoi when there was an attack at my school not only did I watch the blonde vampire drag him away from me. Not only did it kill me to watch the man who was my mentor and taught me everything from fighting to the little self control that I learned in a few month's time but I watched the love of my life being torn away from me.

It took me a few days to realize the forgotten promise of how we rather die than become Strigoi and in return I dropped out of school and set out on my mission to find the love of my life and stake him personally with my stake to help him reclaim his soul in the afterlife.

But, it didn't go as planned. Yes, I found him. Yes, I stake him. No, I didn't succeed in killing him so when I heard there was a way to restore his soul I jumped at the opportunity to save him. In my head I imagined saving him, restoring him to his original state and having him return as if nothing had changed.

Again the little voice in the back of my head deceived me. Now that we brought up that little voice, remind me to never listen to the voice in the back of my head because boy it was wrong…twice.

He wouldn't see me or acknowledge me. He would push me away while he followed my best friend like a hungry lost puppy. In his eyes she was the only one in the world that gave him food, if we are keeping up with that analogy…or whatever the fuck it's called, I'm not good at this English stuff.

Well, we'll keep this background story short because if I went into detail I bet I could write a few books…actually that didn't sound like a bad idea. That would be a good book; a student falls in love with their mentor who later turns into a vampire then rejects her. Bestseller right there. Right?

"Rose," a voice pulled me out of my publishing ideas that I suddenly had. I turned my head from where it was resting on my hand and I was looking out of the window to look into the green eyes-that reminded me of Adrian's-looking at me with a knowing look.

"What?" I whined back at her and she grinned sitting down next to me twisting the cap of the water bottle she had on her hand. I stared at her slim figure as she reached across me to shut the blind that allowed the sun to come in through the little airplane window.

"You had your 'thinking' look again," She said smugly snuggling into the airplane sit. "And let me tell you that I don't like it."

"And why is that?" I asked furrowing my eyebrows. She slowly turned her head as she tucked in her artificially red hair that was in a messy high pony tail making her look slightly more like a model than a vampire princess.

"Because that look means trouble," She smiled showing her fangs and took a sip of the water. I rolled my eyes and folded my hands in my lap whilst staring at her.

Viviane Sarcozy is the one of the many that requested me as their guardian, which I accepted hesitantly. Since I was fifteen there was only one person I wanted to guard but since she started spending time with the love of my life and telling me that I wasn't wanted because he doesn't want me around, I figured she wouldn't mind if I got reassigned.

She lived in California, we were true California girls but we didn't go out much when the sun was up, which was fine since LA was full of night life and being a big city meant that there was more Strigoi lurking around and I don't want to sound conceited but here it goes, I'm Rose Hathaway, I feel invincible. If Dimitri heard me sounding all cocky like that right now, I'd be lectured but guess what….he doesn't want anything to do with me anymore that ass. Doesn't he know what's he's missing? Oh, well!

"I know you find being surrounded by drunken guys amusing since they practically worship the ground you live on but I don't," She continued recalling the night were we snuck into a club, well she used compulsion to get in but hey, we weren't complaining sneaking into the club seemed tamed compare to all the shit I have done. Well, let's just say that night ended with one hell of a hangover and those boys regretted meeting us.

"Wait a minute," I protested sitting up in my seat holding a single finger up giving her a confused look. "It was your idea."

"Oh," She smirked giving me a thoughtful side glance. "I know."

"Then why blame it on me?"

"Because I don't like getting in trouble and you live for it." She shrugged.

"That's fair right?"

"Life isn't fair babe." She said with a chuckle before taking another sip of her water. I shook my head at her false accusations but that's how we got along.

I never thought that I would be this close to anyone since I ditched Lissa but it was easy with her. She reminded me of me and we got along pretty well. We were both crazy but her talent was that she could easily switch it off and be a respectable, polite young women. She was responsible and I had to be too and we were. We were one kick ass team since she could take care of herself just as well as I had to. Her element was fire and we burned half of our attackers…hell to the yeah!

"Princess," A tall muscular man with a cute face, which resembled a lot like Taylor Lautner but Viviane thought that I was crazy, called to her. She turned to look at him and smiled showing her cute dimples that made her look younger than she really was.

"Yes?" she asked raising her eyebrows in permission for him to continue whatever he was saying.

"We are here."

"Thank you for informing me I will be up front in a few moments." She nodded once again and her dimpled smile never faltered once. I stared at him and watched as he walked away. I reached under my seat gathering my belongings and in my peripheral vision I could see Viviane relax a little.

"I always get nervous around him," She said standing up and coming out standing in the isle where she was waiting for me to gather my crap.

"Why?" I asked a little confused slinging the strap of my bag over my shoulder with I furrowed my eyebrows together. I turned my head and my body looking through my bag making sure that everything is there. Most guardians are asses around here and if something of mine went missing, I would never get it back.

"It's just," she sighed before giving me her guilty shy look. "He is so cute, he reminds me of Taylor Lautner."

I whipped my head towards her to glare at her and I gritted my teeth in anger. She started laughing at me pointing at me like I just made the weirdest thing in the world and she wanted to know it came from me, not her. Before I could even think about what I was doing I hit her arm with the back of my hand.

"Kidding," She managed to say in-between her giggles and wrapped her arms around her torso bending down hardly containing her laughter.

"You little bitch," I shook my head glaring at her the whole time following her away down the aisle towards the front entrance of the plane and she kept shaking her head.

"Guardian Hathaway!" A voice sounded shocked yet familiar. I turned to look at one of my old friends shaking his head mockingly. "Assaulting a Moroi is clearly against the rules."

I grinned as I looked my old friend, Eddie Castile the best friend of another friend that we had lost one December during my senior year. I had been using him, well using him is a little harsh let's say leading him on, no. Um, we were exploring our feelings although his were a little stronger than mine while I was thinking about another man, Dimitri. Geez, there was no way to say what I did to Mason nicely but hey it's what happened and deep down there was still a little bit of regret.

"It's not an assault if they deserve it." I countered pushing away my Mason thoughts to the back of my head while I said the last part loudly making sure she heard me and she laughed loudly, melodically even as she stepped down the stairs into the fresh court air. "Besides, I'm not one to follow the rules."

"You're not," He grinned but by the look of his eyes I could tell I wasn't completely forgiven for the whole Vegas confession thing about Dimitri.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, all humor gone.

"I know," he nodded seriously before pointing his thumb behind him. "You know a Strigoi could've easily walked through the back of the plane and you wouldn't even have noticed."

"Eddie, my man," I opened my arms gesturing to myself. "I'm Rose Hathaway." Yup, I sounded cocky but hey I was feeling good.

"You could like that guy on Gossip Girl," He said raising an eyebrow looking at me from head to toe and if he weren't my friend that was already used to my appearance I would say that he was checking me out. "Chuck Bass I think is the name."

"Gossip Girl? Really? Are you gay of something?" I asked in the most monotone voice that I could manage shaking my head slightly watching his face twist in almost disgust and disbelief as he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"No!"

"Why would you-"

"Lissa makes me watch it," He said his eyes wide with a tortured look. "Dimitri stays guard outside, conveniently, when the show is on and I have to stay outside. "

I looked down and played with my fingers. I know that would've been me if I would've stayed. I know we would've tried our hardest to make Dimitri watch it just to torture him because we were sisters like that and we would've been bored and I know that I shouldn't feel this way but I do, sometimes I wonder what it would be like if I stayed with her and ditched Viviane but all of those statements are what if's and would have's. They don't exist.

"But those great ass dinners that Christian makes are worth it," He continued telling me about the happy family that I was supposed to be a part of. There we go again, past tense, a hypothetical situation.

"I get it," I said a little harsher than intended but it got the message across. He stopped whatever story I interrupted and looked up to meet my gaze and he immediately looked guilty.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that it you hard-"

"No blood no foul," I said putting a hand up stopping his little rant and when he shot me the most confused look in the world, I giggled. "I read it in Twilight, it sounded necessary."

"You read now?" He asked spreading his arms out wide walking in a small circle while looking up at the airplane ceiling. "The world is about to end."

"It is 2012."

"That's bullshit!" He stopped in mid circle to look at me with a disbelieving look on his face.

"We won't know until December huh?" I joked.

"You're a bitch, you know that?" He asked as he gestured for us to walk to where my Moroi was outside. We were walking down the steps and immediately I was taken back at how strong the sun was but I guess it only seems reasonable since we were in a dark plane.

"Excuse me," I said looking at him with a shocked face and I was slightly offended. "I'm not a bitch, I'm the bitch!

"Oh," He said his voice dripping in sarcasm. "I'm sorry."

"Better be," I said."I'm from the hood now."

"As if," She scoffed.

I was about to retort but one of Court Guardians called my attention. I turned to look at him and he had his 'Guardian face' as I would like to call it.

"Take the Princess directly to see the Queen," he said tossing me a pair of car keys.

"Yes sir," I saluted walking towards the car eagerly and most of the shook their heads. I knew what they thought and Viviane smiled politely and walked towards the car, she's one of the best damn actresses I've seen.

"Where to?" Viviane asked upon reaching the main court area. I turned to look at her with mischievous smile.

"I don't know," I replied innocently almost too innocently and she giggled walking towards me linking our arms together as we walked slowly towards Queen Bitch's lair.

"I find that hard to believe," she said smiling again. "I bet you were in there almost all of the time."

"You assume wrong my friend the only places I really saw her was when I was calling her out in public areas."

She shook her head and smiled again.

"I'm going to buy us some coffees while you ask for directions." She shrugged happily and walked towards the café right in front of us.

"I can't believe it," A voice behind me said, a voice that I loved. A voice laced with a faint Russian accent. I turned to look at the man that crushed my dreams and my ability to love.

"Roza," he breathed his deep brown eyes showing nothing but disbelief while his eyes surveyed my whole body, sending a chill down my spine once his eyes found mine, I noticed they changed from the last time I saw him. They were slowly gaining the life and light that they had when I first met him.

I furrowed my eyebrows and nodded thoughtfully, trying my best to play it cool. I have him my frown smile, you know the one where your lips are twisted downwards but they were a smile, yeah, that was my play it cool smile. I brought my hand up and patted his bicep softly.

"The names Rose but thanks for trying to remember," I nodded quickly before walking around him and I didn't take a few steps away before his hand was around my bicep keeping me from moving. I turned around to look at him looking at me intensely and then looked down to look at his hand, which was sending hot chills throughout my body.

"Mr. Beilkov, you know I have a Moroi to guard and you are keeping me from my duty," I said a hard voice rising my eyebrows and he let go. With a final glance I looked at him and walked down towards Viviane who just kept observing the whole situation and I didn't dare to look back.