Chapter One.

I were bored.

Extremely bored. Rose and Lissa were asleep, and it were three in the morning and there were nothing to do. I got tired of reading ages ago.

Then I heard Lissa start screaming and when I ran into the room she were thrashing around as Rose were shaking her and telling her to wake. Both were soaked with sweat and Rose's eyes were filled with aged pain as Lissa whimpered.

"Andre."

My eyes looked away from them and to the floor as she moaned her brothers name. I thought she had stopped dreaming about that...

"It's okay. Everything's okay." I heard Rose tell Liss. I walked out of the room and into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of apple juice from the fridge before moving into the living room and sitting on chair next to Jeremy. He were one of our housemates at the moment, until we had to move again. He were frowning.

"What's up, Jerbear?" I smiled.

"Nothing much, Ree. Just confused with the Calculus I have to study." He replied, laughing awkwardly. I tilted my head to the side slightly and raised an eyebrow.

"So... You need help?" I asked slowly.

Jeremy shook his head and gave me a grin.

"Nah, I'll be fine."

I saw Lissa go into the kitchen and my smile slipped off of my face. She had fed off of Rose again. Her mind were filled with guilty thoughts.

I tuned in again and just closed my eyes.

I shouldn't have done that. She needs to rest. It's my fault she's feeling out of it...

"Lissa, stop blaming yourself. It's not gonna help the situation." I called out. Jer looked at me but didn't comment, he was used to it by now.

My phone vibrated from within my black ripped jeans pocket and I stuck my tongue out at Jer as he wouldn't stop poking me.

Hey, Astria. You okay? -Christian.

Hey, Cree. I'm fine, started hiding with two girls who are on the run. They seem okay, I guess. You? -Astria.

Things back here are the same as usual, boring. And you said you're with two girls who are on the run? Two girls ran away from here awhile ago. Head is still looking for them. -Christian.

Yikes. Well, keep an eye out. I plan on visiting. -Astria.

Yes! Finally! Get a move on, gorgeous! -Christian.

Okay. Okay. Calm down. -Astria.

-_- -Christian.

Cree, I gotta go. I'll message soon. Love ya, Fratello. -Astria.

See ya, Ria. -Christian.

As I slipped my phone back into my pocket, Rose ran into the room, obviously in a rush.

"You shouldn't be up." Lissa told her.

"We have to go. Now." Rose demanded, ignoring Lissa's words.

Her eyes widened and a look of realisation crossed her face.

"Are you... Really? Are you sure?"

Rose nodded and I watched with a sad expression.

"What's wrong, Ree? Are you alright?" Jeremy asked me, frowning in concern and confusion.

"I'm afraid our time together has to end here, Jerbear. But you have my number. Message me. Goodbye, my friend." I told him, before leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. His cheeks flushed pink and I heard Rose tell Lissa to get his keys behind me.

"Jer, I know I'm leaving, but I have no form of transport... Please may I borrow your car?" I asked. Jeremy nodded, pulling his keys from his pocket and placing them in my hand. He pulled me into a hug, our last hug.

"Take care, Astria. And my car is parked down the street, at the corner by Brown. I won't tell anyone, I promise."

I pulled back, smiling sadly. Lissa grabbed the keys and Rose grabbed my arm, pulling me out of the building.

Rose kept on stumbling, she seemed to still be dizzy from the bite. I kept an eye out as Liss caught hold of Rose, I could feel and see the anxiety flowing into Rose's already stressed mind from Liss, and I tried to place a barrier so it didn't affect her as much.

"Rose... What are we going to do if they catch us?" I heard Liss ask behind me.

"They won't. I won't let them." Rose told her confidently. I rolled my eyes, she wouldn't be able to hold off a bunny at this point, never mind whoever they're running from.

"But if they've found us-"

"They found us before. They didn't catch us then. We'll just drive over to the train station and go to L.A. They'll lose the trail."

This just keeps getting better and better. Looks like I'm playing guardian again.

"Just a question, how long have you been running?" I asked.

"Um... Around two years? Yeah. Two years." Lissa answered, her voice wavering slightly.

I heard footsteps from somewhere around, I couldn't figure out where from.

"Guys, slight problem. More than one person is following us..." I whispered back to them. Rose grimaced.

We have two more blocks to go, I heard Rose think. I nodded.

"We've got to run for it." Rose said, catching hold of Lissa's arm.

"Rosie, no offence but you can't exactly walk properly at the moment, nevermind run." I told her.

"Run." She hissed.

We all sprinted forward, Lissa shooting worried glances at Rose while I kept my around her to keep her steady. We could just make out Jeremy's car ahead of us as the footsteps got louder.

Around ten feet from the car, a man stepped in front of us. We skidded to stop and Rose grabbed Lissa's arm weakly to stop her moving forward.

It's him. Rose thought.

I eyed him carefully, figuring out how much of a challenge he would be.

He were definitely older, but probably only mid-twenties. He had shoulder length brown hair that were tied back into a short ponytail and dark brown eyes. Probably about 6'6 or 6'7.

I could tell more people had closed in around us, I could sense them way before Lissa and Rose. What shocked me was that all of them were guardians. Every, single, one of them.

Rose started acting on instinct, and I could feel and see the panic around her. She pushed Lissa behind her, hiding her from the person who seemed to be the leader.

"Leave her alone," Rose growled. "Don't touch her."

He held his hands out in a calming gesture but that seemed to irritate her even more. Then he took a step too close.

Rose attacked him and I pulled Lissa behind me as she were sent flying backwards.

Rose has no chance, she's weak from before and he is trained. She hasn't used them moves since we left.

I nodded at Lissa.

"I know."

I saw that the man had caught Rose but he were looking at her neck. Rose shook her hair out so it feel around her face and covered her neck.

As she braced herself to attack again, Lissa moved from behind me and grabbed her hand.

"Rose, don't." She said quietly.

I watched as Liss sent calming thoughts through the bond into Rosie's head, and the tension left her body.

The man stepped forward, sensing she had backed down, his face held a calmness I hadn't seen in a long time. He bowed, his attention on Liss.

"His name is Dimitri Belikov." I told her. The man looked at me, slightly frowning in confusion but made no comment.

"I've come to take you back to St. Vladimir's Academy, Princess." He told Liss. I whipped my head towards her.

"Wait a minute. Princess? As in, Princess Vasilisa Dragomir?" I asked her, frowning.

"Um... Surprise?..." She replied weakly.

I rolled my eyes.

"Damn, girl. You could have told me."

"Not the time, Astria." Rose hissed under her breath.