A Series

Chapter One


As Lissa and Rose entered their room at the ski lodge Dimitri held back. Something in his posture told Rose he needed to speak with her. "Can I speak with you for a moment Rose?" He looked towards Lissa, and then towards Rose, a hard look in his eye.

Rose, feeling that it was a scolding about being in Adrian's room, followed him out the door and down the hallway to a lounge that he quickly secured. She sat down on one of the plush sofas in the room and looked at Dimitri, who stood there, solid as a statue.

"I decided to take her offer Roza."

There it was. That awful confession that she had been dreading since she heard about the offer from her mother. Dimitri was going to leave her for Tasha Ozera. Her brown eyes filled slightly with tears as her heart broke, "You're just going to leave me like that? A few months before graduation you're going to just take off with that woman!"

Anger filled her voice, she couldn't, wouldn't believe that he would leave her like this.

Dimitri's eyes, those warm brown pools that she loved so, narrowed. "Do not talk about her like that Rose," his voice was cold. "She needs protection, and I can't be near you, you can't be near me. Not without trying to attack me half the time. This is best for you, best for me, and best for the future. It would never work between the two of us. What happened was a mistake that can't afford to be made."

Tears were rolling down her cheeks as Rose listened to Dimitri. "Why was it such a mistake? You didn't think it was a few days ago!"

Those normally warm eyes stared coldly back at her, "I've listened to the rational side of my brain Rose. What happened was the effects of a lust charm. Lust Rose, not love or any other feelings. I have a chance at love, a chance to have a family with Tasha. If you care about me, would you deny me that chance?" His voice was persuasive towards the end, counting on her love for him. "I want the chance to live right now. I can't do that with you. I can't have a family with you. Guardians are not meant to be together anyways, give it up and focus on what is your duty."

Rose sat frozen on that sofa and Dimitri took a step towards her. His hand went out to touch her face, but she jerked away and glared her famous glare at him. "No, you don't get to treat me like this. If you don't want to have contact with me then don't. I won't stop you."

Her anger was beginning to get the best of her and she shook her head, "Don't stand there and pretend you care! Just get away from me!"

For just one instance, Rose could see hurt in Dimitri's eyes, and then quick as a flash of lightning, it was gone. "Don't do anything destructive." Dimitri finally ground out before spinning on his heel and exiting the room.

Rose waited another five minutes before throwing herself onto the couch and letting out horrible sobs. Her body shook until she was startled by a calm hand on her shoulder.

"Don't cry little dhampir," Adrian's voice was soothing as he rubbed small circles into her back. She wanted to shove him away and leave as quickly as she could, perhaps drink her sorrows away, but she was just so crushed at the moment.

"I thought he cared," she whispered, her voice full of the pain of recent heartbreak.

"I know little dhampir, I could see it," Adrian whispered back to her, his own voice was tender and filled with concern. "You can't let him destroy what a strong woman you are. You have to be strong for yourself and for Lissa," he helped her slowly sit up as he talked and held one of her hands in his own, rubbing small circles in her hand, "Without him, you have so much more potential, so many more chances. Don't let one man be the one to stop all of that."

Rose sniffed and rubbed at her eyes, "Okay," the word was whispered but it made Adrian's face light up.

"That's the first step towards the greatness you're destined for Rose."

"How do you know?"

Adrian smiled at her. "Trust me little dhampir."

She punched him in the arm. "I think it's a little too soon for that Adrian. It's been like, three days since I met you." A smile twitched at the edges of her lips though, but she finally sighed, "I should go. Lissa's probably worried about me."

As Rose stood she felt Adrian's fingers on her wrist. "Be careful Rose, don't let this destroy you."

There it was again, that strange bit of craziness, but Rose nodded, "Okay."

Finally stepping through the door she looked back and smiled a coy smile, "Don't get any ideas about us now Ivashkov. After all, I'm not that interested in older men." She winked before bolting down the hallway into Lissa and her own shared bedroom.


"Oh Rose, are you alright?" Lissa's concerned voice startled Rose as she shut the suite door behind her. Puffy red eyes, and tear stains down her cheeks Rose smiled a little. "I will be Lissa, I just think it's going to take a while for this one to heal."

"He didn't yell at you that much for being in Adrian's room did he?"

"No," she sighed sadly, "He didn't yell at me at all for that..."

"Then why the long face?" Her green eyes looked into Rose's brown, concern flooded the bond between them and Rose knew she had to tell her, it was just the right time.

"I have a bit of a story to tell you," Rose looked sad as she said it, "I know you'll have plenty of questions, but you have to leave them till the end, okay?"

Lissa just nodded, knowing it was important for Rose to get this off her chest.

And so she told Lissa about her sort-of romance with her mentor, seven years her senior, and how close she had come to giving herself away to him the night Lissa had been kidnapped by Victor Dashkov. Rose shared the tensions of being in training with him, and how she had found out about Tasha's offer to Dimitri, and finally, and most heartbreaking of all, how Dimitri had chosen that life with Tasha, and intended on leaving her soon after they all got back from the trip.

Lissa stared at her friend in disbelief. "Oh Rose," she whispered distressed, and Rose leaned into her. "I'm so sorry Lissa, so so sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for Rose, he was older, no matter what may have been done to you he had the responsibility to protect you, and he failed in that. Don't blame yourself Rose." Concern filled her voice and through the bond the brunette dhampir could feel the love her friend held for her, and the scorn she now harbored for Dimitri.

Worried Rose spoke softly to her, "Lissa, the chance Tasha gave him...I don't like that he took it, but so few dhampirs get a chance like that. I can't hold it against him that he took that chance, you shouldn't either," Her voice was pleading. "You have to put yourself in dhampir shoes, we can only reproduce with Moroi, and how many Moroi women are going to be okay with giving birth to a dhampir baby? Lissa please understand. I know why he did it, I just don't like it."

Jade eyes peered through a curtain of platinum. Finally, after a few minutes of grudging silence, "Okay Rose, he hurt you, but okay..."

Rose smiled, a sad small smile, "Thank you," and she pulled Lissa towards her in a crushing hug. "I'm gonna go out now, it's still an early day, maybe I can wash some of the sadness away with a little dose of Mason."

"And I'll go see Christian so you can have a little privacy," Lissa smiled knowingly. Rose merely rolled her eyes and let a small smile trace her lips.


When she finally found Mason he was all sorts of worked up. Somehow he had found out that the group of Strigoi that had attacked the Drosdovs was hiding out in Spokane and was intent on leading a mission out to destroy them.

"Mase, if the Guardians aren't going out to get them what makes you think we could?" Rose asked, slightly annoyed. She had been hoping to wipe her foul mood away with a little attention from Mason, but that didn't appear as if it was going to happen anytime soon.

"The Guardians don't want to go because it's not something they do, and they have to stay and protect the Moroi. We could go because we're novices, we don't take our orders from the Court yet."

"Yea, but Mase, that's just it. We're novices we shouldn't go out to try and take out a pack of Strigoi!"

"Will you go with us or not Rose?" Mason's normally warm voice had finally gone cold, "Or are you going to go and hang out with Adrian Ivashkov again?"

Rose's mouth dropped open in surprise, actually struck speechless at Mason's angry tone.

"I'll take that as a no then." And he turned away with his friend Eddie in tow.

About two hours later Rose went looking for them, but when she couldn't find them anywhere she felt for Lissa, who said she'd be with Christian. Instead Rose found her alone with Adrian in one of the lounge rooms working on something with spirit.

Heading towards the room she walked right into Christian.

"Hey."

"Hey." He responded, rather more aloof than usual. He was scowling and had apparently just been leaving the room the two spirit users were practicing in. "You looking for Lissa?"

"I was actually wondering if you'd seen Mason around anywhere?"

"Oh," he sounded vaguely disappointed. "I saw him, Mia, and Eddie going towards one of the gates earlier, why?"

Rose closed her eyes and let out a sigh of frustration. "I think they're trying to leave to Spokane, they think there are Strigoi there that they can take down."

"Well let's go then."

Brown eyes glared at him in response. "No, if there are really Strigoi there I can't endanger your life by taking you Christian."

"You can't really stop me from coming along."

Glaring at him she sighed, "Fine, you're probably going to have to compel one of the guards to let us leave."

Christian just nodded his head and smirked, "Sure."

"Well, come on then. We don't have a lot of time to waste."

And so they slipped out of the ski lodge, without much hassle, and were on a bus towards Spokane, Washington.


A/N: Decided to write this in third person view because when writing fandom, I don't really feel that I can write first person the way an author does. I just don't feel that I should write it exactly the same.

So now they're off to Spokane. Will the events follow the story? Or will they follow some new, sick plot?

R&R