A/N: Just as a note, this is my entry for the Last Sacrifice Fanfiction Contest by the shadowkissed website. I just thought I'd do this for fun, but it would be cool to have Richelle Mead to read my fanfic. ^_^ So wish me luck!

Disclaimer: I hereby declare that I do not claim to have written any characters in the Vampire Academy series.

Chapter One

I don't like cages. Cages confine me, keeping me in and preventing me from helping Lissa or Dimitri or whoever. Assuming that Lissa or whoever is in trouble, that is. Which is usually true, considering I'm the one caged.

Why am I in a cage? Well, that's a good question. Maybe it's because everyone in the Moroi world is accusing me of killing their queen. That sanctimonious bitch, that Tatiana. She didn't deserve to be a queen. But she was, and now she's dead. And I'm supposedly her murderer.

I admit, I'm definitely not a big supporter of Tatiana, considering I called her a sanctimonious bitch to her in public. But I'm not stupid enough to kill her in her sleep, using my own stake. No one's that stupid.

But I couldn't do anything about the position I was in. No one could help me from here, except maybe Lissa. But I didn't want her to risk her life—and yes, she could be risking her life—doing this for me. I'll get out on my own.

I hope.

I looked up as I heard the patter of footsteps across the jail. I was stuck in this miserable little jail cell until my trial, at which I may or may not be accused of murdering Queen Tatiana. Not your favorite predicament, I understand.

A security guard took out his keys and unlocked my cell, saying in a gruff voice and failing to be even the slightest bit happy, "Time for your break, Hathaway."

I rolled my eyes as I stood up from the damp floor. Like this was a happy occasion. I snorted at the thought.

Concentrate, a part of me said. Focus on your surroundings. You said earlier that you wanted to break out of this place.

I stiffened and quickly scanned the hallway we were entering. Dark and narrow room, with two doorways guarded by more dhampirs. There was no way I could break out of here.

Yet I knew there had to be a way. Didn't I break Victor out of a top-notch prison?

That was different, the pessimistic part of me said. You weren't the one confined. He was.

I retorted, Shut up! Shit, isn't being here bad enough without you talking at every turn?

Great. Now I was talking to myself. I pretty much have myself committed to an asylum already. Though I should have been a long time ago, considering that I'm shadow-kissed.

Speaking of being shadow-kissed, maybe I should check on Lissa.

No, stay focused.

I groaned and said to myself, There's no point! I'm not going anywhere with this!

And then I dove into Lissa's conscience, desperate to get away from where I was.

"There's no way we can help her."

Lissa turned her eyes on the speaker. "Yes, there is. There always is a way." I didn't need a bond with her to hear the desperation in her voice.

He sighed. "Look, Lissa, I'd love to help her too. It's just—we can't do anything. She's stuck there. Maybe forever." The last word caught in his throat.

Lissa sighed and rubbed her eyes. She was tired of everyone saying that there wasn't anything they could do for me. "I'm sure there's something we can do for her. I mean, I'm not asking you to break her out of jail"—there was a slight pause as she thought about breaking Victor out of jail—"but there must be a way legally. I mean, Rose couldn't have done it, right? There's no way. She's not stupid or reckless enough."

He brushed his hair out of his eyes and returned his sympathetic gaze to Lissa. Those dark brown eyes that always penetrated me seemed only to make Lissa even more depressed. "Rose will be fine. She'll be declared innocent in the trial." Yet there was still a tone of doubt in his voice.

Lissa exclaimed, "But how? Who's going to provide the evidence? All the evidence they have—which isn't a lot—all point to her. Every single freaking one of them. Dimitri, you have to help me find out what happened. You love her."

Something in Dimitri hardened. "I don't. Love fades. And I can't help you." He rose from his chair—they were in a cafe, I realized—and turned to leave.

"Liar," Lissa said, standing up. I was surprised she had the guts to tell Dimitri that. "You still love her. I can tell. Remember, I'm good at reading people." One of the good characteristics of being a spirit user. Yet I didn't believe her.

Dimitri ignored her words, though he did seem to have paused a while before leaving.

Lissa shook her head and slumped back into her chair. "Gah, what am I gonna do? Alberta can't help, Dimitri won't help, no one with authority can do anything!" But then a spark was produced in her mind. Maybe someone could help. Someone who was a spirit user and loved Rose too. Someone who might be the great-grandson of the deceased queen.

Maybe Adrian could help. Maybe he could help Lissa break me out.

A/N: Think I did well? I guess I did, though I hate cursing ...