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I sat behind bars still confused at the situation. I couldn't believe that I was being framed for killing the Queen, and that Lissa had a mystery sibling. My life was so messed up right now.

"Rose?" I looked up when I heard Lissa's voice from the other side.

"Hey." I said with a sigh. Great, another visitor. My loving mother had already visited me, along with Abe, my very strange-yet like me- father.

Lissa leaned against the wall after compelling the guards to leave for a few minutes.

"I miss you." She said. I walked over to the bars and held her hands in mine.

"I miss you too." I said.

"This is ridiculous. I know you didn't do it, but…their evidence…" her voice trailed off.

"I know. They have great evidence, but I promise you that I did not kill her. What would I get out of killing her? It's not like I would get the throne or anything…I would just get…killed." I released her hands. Lately I have been living a horrible life, and what do I get? I get accused of committing a murder that I didn't even do nor have any part in.

"I won't let them do anything to you. No matter what it takes, I will get you out of this. I owe this to you after all the things you have helped me with." She said with tears welling up in her beautiful green eyes.

"I would love if there was something you could do, but there isn't. I am going to die, and I have to face that fact. I have to make that last sacrifice and surrender my life so that our world can go on without me holding it back."

"No! Stop saying that!" Lissa said. "Too many people love you. And they are not going to let you give up without a fight." I put my hand up to stop her.

"But I have no more reason to live anymore. I can't be your guardian because everyone thinks I am a murderer, I have already brought back Dimitri, and he won't even consider loving me again. I am screwed and so is my life. I don't know if I can handle all of this stress anymore." I blurted out wiping a tear of my own from my eye.

"Princess Vasilisa, Lord Conta would like to speak to you." A red haired guardian poked his head around the door and called for Lissa. He reminded me a lot like Mason…

Lissa nodded then gave my hand a soft squeeze before leaving. Her eyes showed true determination but through the bond I could feel weariness. I knew she would try to help me, but at the moment, the only person I could rely on was Abe.

A half an hour went passed so I decided to let myself slip into Lissa's head. She still considered it an evasion of privacy, but when you are alone in a cell, you kinda get desperate.

Through her eyes I saw her knocking on a door with the number 45 on it. It wasn't long until someone answered the door. There, stood Dimitri. His long brown hair was pulled up into a lose ponytail, and his brown eyes lit up at the sight of me…I mean Lissa.

"Come in." He opened the door wide for her and she let herself in. I was glad to see that he was no longer being confined into a single cell. Now, I knew how he had felt before…except he was treated like a freak science experiment, where as I was being treated like some kind of insane serial killer. It seemed sorta ironic that I got put in the cell he used to be in.

Lissa sat on the sofa and she fidgeted with her fingers.

"Umm, Dimitri?" she soon said after thinking about her words. He stared at her admiringly and I could tell that I was rolling my own eyes.

"Yes?" he asked with a slight smile. Lissa bit her lip then said,

"You know how you said you would do anything for me since you 'owe' me?" Dimitri nodded so Lissa continued. "Well, I need to ask a favor of you."

"Anything…" he said. His smile broadened.

"I need you to talk to Rose."

"…except that." He said. Just like that his smile disappeared.

"Dimitri, please! Just talk to her! She gave up, and is easily accepting the consequences of being killed and I want her to keep fighting. I think by her realizing what she will be leaving behind, she will try harder." Right now, I really wished I could talk to her through the bond. I wanted to tell her that it was stupid and useless trying to get him to help. It would never work. This one way bond talking thing was really getting on my nerves.

"Okay. This is only for you though." Dimitri's words surprised me out of Lissa's head, if that were possible. Once again I looked out of my own brown eyes and found myself staring down at the plain white tiled floor of my jail cell. Dimitri was finally going to talk to me willingly. Still though, I didn't think that he could do much to make me try harder. I knew that there was a 99% chance of me being executed so I did not strive to make that 1% chance happen. I know giving up was very un-Rose like, but I knew I was defeated…I knew there was nothing left that I could do.

Having nothing better to do I allowed myself to slowly fall asleep on the thin mattress they provided me. It wasn't long before I heard footsteps growing louder. I sat up and brushed the long strands of my dark brown hair from my face. I had already noticed that my dark skin was getting paler. From the lack of sunlight I had or the knowledge of my death approaching- I had no idea. Speaking of sunlight, I had no freaking idea what time it was seeing as there were no clocks or windows.

I let my eyes gain focus before actually looking at the person who had advanced towards me. He stood perfectly still and his eyes wondered around the room, never meeting my gaze.

"Look, I know Lissa sent you, but you came and now you can leave. Your words are not going to make me try harder in the trial. I am going to lose, so there is no point in denying them. Their evidence is solid." I yawned then let myself fall back onto the bed. I haven't slept that long in the two days I had been in the cell, and the lack of sleep was catching up on me.

"What happened to you?" Dimitri whispered more to himself than to me.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I slid my blanket over my body and curled up in my bed.

"The Rose I knew would never give in without a fight."

"Really? Because when we were talking outside and all those guards came for me I let them take me…it was you who fought, not me."

"But they can't do this to you. You didn't do it." Dimitri's eyebrows came together like he was trying to figure out how to save me.

"Actually they can do this to me, and thank you for stating the obvious that I didn't do it." I said through gritted teeth. I wasn't trying to sound mean towards Dimitri, but the fact that you are going to die doesn't really put you in the best mood. My eyelids slowly closed but I still listened to what Dimitri had to say.

"Lissa told me what you did to get me back to a dhampir…I had no idea…I thought it was all her…"

"Even though I didn't kill the Queen I should still be punished for breaking a criminal out of Tarasov to save you."

"No you shouldn't. You did that for good reason…you did that to save me, and I hadn't realized what you went through. I owe you, just as much as I owe Lissa-"

"But, you still don't love me." I stated as my eyes fluttered back open. I sighed knowing what he would say.

"No." A heavy silence fell upon us. It was Dimitri who finally broke it. "Wait, I have an idea." he paced back and forth along the bars of my cell.

"What is it?" I finally asked. My patience was never good.

"I could say I did it." His gaze finally met mine. Even with the little energy I had, I shot up out of my bed.

"What! Are you out of your mind?" I yelled. Ignoring me, Dimitri went on.

"That would work perfectly. They still don't believe me that I am 100% dhampir, so if I acted dangerous again, they would believe me that I killed her." He talked to himself.

"No, I would never let you do that! If you sacrificed yourself for me, then everything I did to get you back would be pointless. You cannot die just after you've gotten your soul back." I said sternly, pressing my face up to the bars.

"But I owe you." He said as he walked up to me.

"But not in this way. You can…I don't know…you can pay me back a different way." Dimitri's hand went to my hair. He always looked for ways of touching it. I didn't blame him though…I had pretty goddamned hair. He swept the hair from my face then said softly,

"I won't let them hurt you, Roza." As much as I loved him, I was really pissed that he was touching me and calling me "Roza" when he did not love me. Then the doors swung open and Dimitri immediately stepped away from me. When I looked to my left I saw Mikhail enter the room. He glanced around and saw Dimitri.

"Oh…I guess I will just leave for now-" I put my hand up to stop him.

"No, its fine. We're finished here." I said. Dimitri's soft eyes looked hurt at me pushing him away. He strode out of the room with his head down.

"How are you doing?" Mikhail asked. Ever since I have been in this jail cell, Mikhail visited me each night. I am not really sure why, but I had taken a liking toward him and his presence always cheered me up. He was the only person I had told about the note that the Queen had written. I hadn't even told Lissa.

"Oh I am great! This single jail cell has fantastic entertainment and a lovely view!" I spoke with as much sarcasm as I could muster, gesturing around me. Mikhail chuckled. He sat against the wall and faced me.

"So do you have any idea of who it could be?" He asked turning serious.

"Who? The person who is framing me or who Lissa's sibling is?" I asked exasperated.

"Either one." Mikhail answered.

"For the framers all I thought of was Victor Dashkov, or one of the Queens guardians. As for Lissa's siblings…well, I have no idea."

"Nor do I. Anyway, why do you think that Victor did it?" he asked.

"Well, I remember him saying stuff like: 'There are other ways of taking power' and 'The greatest and most powerful revolutions often start very quietly, hidden in the shadows. Remember that.'" I told Mikhail. Victor had told me all of this before all of his trials when he was being kept at the academy. His words had sent chills down my spine, and they still did.

"You have some valid points, but I am not sure if they will believe you."

"Of course they won't believe me. And even if they do, they need someone to be punished, so everyone thinks that they are safe. Seeing as no one knows where Victor is, I am the only option left." I said. Mikhail dropped his head in his hands.

"Do you have any evidence for your alibi if they ask you?" Mikhail asked. I thought for a moment knowing that I had evidence…I just didn't know if I should tell Mikhail. Oh, what the hell would it matter? I am going to die no matter what.

"Well, I do have something. Please don't think badly of me if I tell you though…" he nodded so I brushed my hair from my neck and showed him the bite mark Adrian had given me.

"Oh…" He bit his lip. "Was that given to you when the Queen was being murdered?" I nodded my head. "Okay, so then you could just get the person who bit you to tell them that he did that when Queen Tatiana was dying."

"My thoughts exactly." I said. "But I don't want to put this person's ego in jeopardy." I thought of Adrian and his relation to the Queen.

"Rose…its either this person's ego or your life. Personally, I would go with the first choice." He said. I laughed in spite of myself. If I told mine and Adrian's secret, at least the Queen couldn't yell about it to me.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that your next trial is tomorrow morning."

"What!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, apparently they really want to get this over with. I think it is mostly just because the quicker this happens, the sooner everybody starts to relax."

"I guess so." I said. Mikhail looked down at his watch then back to me.

"Well, I have to go. Some guardians are having a meeting." He stood up and walked towards the door. Just as he was about to open it I called back to him.

"If I ever get out of this, I am going to help you find Miss Karp and bring her back. No matter what." I said smiling at him. He smiled back, and without another word he left the room.

Even with my tired state, I was awake all night. This last trial was my final chance.

It was the final line between life and death…