Hey guys :)

I am so sorry for abandoning this story, I have re-worked the first couple chapters and have the next few chapters ready to go. I can't promise that my updates will happen on regular basis but I won't leave half a year between them. Please let me know whether you like the story, if you read it just leave a review saying whether it is good or bad. If I get more than seven reviews saying that it is good, I will continue. If I get five saying it is bad, I will give up.

Summary:

Mariya Belikova is the non-direct descendant of Dimitri Belikov. Join her as she discovers what it is like to be the bond-mate of one of the last of the Badica royal line. She is a fifteen year old orphan who proved that she has what it takes at a young age. Will Mariya be able the challenges and dangers lurking within and outside the academies gates. Or will her or one of her friends be silenced forever. It is kind of like Vampire Academy, but kind of not. Every member of the futurist gang has a connection to the characters in the novels by Richelle Mead. See if you can join the dots, before it is too late.

I really hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Vampire Academy or the world in which it is set. I do however own any of the characters I create and my ideas.

Chapter 1

I am five. I am running through a field trying desperately to find my mum, it must have been an hour since I had seen her last. There are trees up ahead casting shadows of darkness that frighten me. I hear the wail of a young boy, probably my age. Where did that noise come from? I am so alone. I look around, there are two men holding onto a small boy. The boy is screaming and flailing, but is no match for the grown men. I turn to run, frightened. I see a large stick lying on the ground. I pause. My mind made up I grab the stick and run towards the men...

"Maria!" Mrs Welsh shoots me an unimpressed look. "Could you please answer the question?" Oh no! Busted again? Seriously this women is like a hawk. First sign of anyone not paying attention and―"Maria, the class is waiting. Can you answer the question?"

"Uh no ma'am, sorry ma'am" I reply. Ding Ding Ding! Yes! Saved by the bell. I gather my books.

"In future keep in mind that my class is not an opportunity to take a nap. Class dismissed!" I bolt from the classroom. Maths, who needs it? I head to the commons, grab a yoghurt and join my group at our table. They are chatting about unimportant things so I continue where I left off in Mrs Welsh's class.

They turn and start laughing. What was a little girl going to do to stop them? One of the men laughed so much that he dropped the boy. I swung my makeshift weapon at the one still holding on, he tried to manoeuvre out of the way but the action was clumsy while holding the boy. The stick made contact with his face.

"Why you little shit!" The man caught hold of my waist picked me up and launched me several metres into a nearby tree. The world dimmed and my vision became fuzzy. I was aware that more people had joined the scene, later I found out that they were in fact academy guardians. The boy crawled over to me just as I began to close my eyes.

"Keep your eyes open." Cried the boy as tears began to roll down his cheeks. "You can't die. You can't! Stay awake!" He shook me ever so gently. "Wake up! Please wake up. Please, please, please." I wanted to open my eyes but I couldn't, I couldn't move. It hurt too much. I faintly remember the boy resting his hands upon my chest, just above my heart. And that was the last thing I felt.

Okay obviously I didn't die that day but I came pretty damn close. That day literally changed the course of the rest of my life. I'm a guardian now, or will be when I finish my training and graduate. Turns out that little boy was one of the last three Badicas at the time, one of the last two now. The men were humans sent by the strigoi to capture the boy and return him to them, so they could kill him since he would be the future prince. Damek Badica. My best friend and the person I am sworn to protect at all costs.

Classes are finished for the day, or well night, depending on how you look at it and I am heading over to gym for some extra training time. I am always training lately but I'm okay with it if it means that I will be assigned as Dame's guardian. If I don't get assigned to him, then the last ten years of my life will have been a waste.

I was never meant to be a guardian, my mother Zoya Belikova ran away from that life, hiding out in the human world and getting by as best she could while taking care of me. That day in the field, when I couldn't find her was the day her past as a legendary strigoi hunter caught up with her. It was the day she died, and I came so close to joining her. After saving the Badica prince, I was taken to an academy, St. Vladimir's, and forced into a world of magic, fighting and death. A lot for a 5 year old to take in, I know. To accept that not only was your mother never coming back but also that the world you thought you lived in was harbouring a massive secret, a whole other world, one that you were now a part of.

So I learnt to fight, to use my small size to my advantage. My speed and flexibility made me a worthy opponent. That was my biggest goal, save for spending the rest of my life guarding the only family I consider to have left, I would hunt down the bastards that killed my mother and I would make them regret the day the ever messed with my family. I can usually keep my emotions in check, mastering to stoic mask I've seen on the school guardians faces, but if any harm comes to those I love, I get pissed, majorly pissed. Dame is my best friend and brother, and Headmistress Mastrano has boosted me up a year to be in the same graduating class as him so I have the best possible chance of being assigned as his guardian.

Speak of the devil, he is sitting cross-legged under one of the large oak trees on the academy grounds. He must be practising his magic. Thanks to Queen Vasilissa Dragomir's current reign and her devoted husband Lord Ozera, moroi are now allowed to choose whether or not to take offensive magic classes. Due to past experience Dame chose to participate these practises but will only use them as a last resort, he believes that he is as equally responsible for protecting me as I am for him. He is a special case having specialised in two elements; Earth and Spirit, although he keeps the latter hidden.

I can see the lines of concentration on his face and his eyes are closed. The ground around his is rippling as he makes the tree shoot taller.

It's too good of an opportunity to pass up, I silently sneak up behind him with the intent of scaring him. Unfortunately for me one of the trees roots snags my foot, I let out a small shriek as I face-plant into the ground. I can just image my teacher's voice in my head saying 'bad form Maria'.

Dame's eyes fly open and he turns around to face me, amusement evident in his forest green eyes. When he sees me however, he scrambles up and comes to kneel in front of me, his eyes now have a look of concern. Concern? He reaches towards the left side of my forehead and I flinch under his touch. When he pulls back his hand I am surprised to see blood on his fingers.

"Oh Mary." He is only person alive aloud to call me that. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. It's my own stupid fault."

"Please let me heal you." Oh great, now he wants to waste magic on a tiny cut.

"No, you've already healed me so much. You've given me life! Don't waste any more magic on me." I died that day in the field but in his childlike panic Dame had brought me back from the dead forging a physic bond between us.

"Damn it! I can't stand to see you in pain." Knowing him he thinks that it is his fault, sure it was his magic but I was the one that lost concentration.

"It doesn't hurt that much, I've had worse."

"I don't want it to ruin your pretty face." My mind shifts to mentally analyse my appearance. Light brown naturally curly hair, tanned skin and eyes that can change from grey to sea green or steel blue in an instant. I suppose I am nice looking, but I've never entertained the thought of me being pretty. I feel a tingling sensation on my skin bringing me back from my self-analysis.

"Hey! No Fair! I didn't say―" I could no longer breathe however as Dame pulled me off the ground into a bone-crushing hug, spinning me in a circle. He was quite strong for a moroi, but then again I was quite small for my age. Laughingly he plants a small peck on my cheek and sets me down. We set off back to the library to socialise and in my case do homework. I may be a fighter, but an academic I am not.

A/N: Please remember to let me know what you think. Izzi xx