Hey guys! IsabellaRain and AriaBelikov here! Our new collaboration project, Turkish Delight, has arrived! We hope you will enjoy as we have put a lot of time and effort into making it the best we can, and then some.

Summary: When Rose is forced to choose between her future as a Guardian and protecting Dimitri, she is forced to leave her life behind. Five years later, the star-crossed lovers meet once again. In the midst of political change can Rose and Dimitri's love survive? Or will the past year them apart?

Turkish Delight

The echoes of the St. Vladimir attacks were still around campus. Even though it had been a month, people were still on edge. The royals were here far more often and it felt like we were gaining and losing guardians everyday.

Dimitri didn't care about that though. He still had me training everyday, harder than before. Didn't he realize I had staked more Strigoi than they could count? I smiled as I headed toward the gym. Training was an excuse to be around Dimitri, since the cabin we had hardly had time to be alone.

Today was supposed to be different, though. Last night after we finished practice, Dimitri had asked me to clear a bit of time after practice today. He said he'd have a little bit of time so we could spend some time together. A shiver of anticipation ran through me and I picked up my pace.

As I crossed the quad, I saw Stan and Alberta talking. I was curious, but I was more excited about what was to come after practice that I kept moving. When I was within earshot, though, I heard Alberta say Dimitri's name and I came to a quick halt, taking cover behind some bushes so that I wouldn't be seen.

"It's terrible what happened to Prince Badica's guardian, but it will at least mean he'll see more action. It must be quite dull for a Guardian as young as him to be stuck somewhere like the Academy. His skills are too valuable for us to keep him here until the Princess is due to go to Court, and Prince Badica needs him more. He's in a high risk area and he has already shown that he could use the reinforcements up there." Alberta said, seeming troubled, but it had been no secret that Prince Badica had relocated to Prague in order to settle some diplomatic problems and had had some problems with the Strigoi population there.

"It's a rare honor to have a Prince request you specifically, especially someone as powerful as Prince Badica. Guardian Belikov will be well looked after there." Stan sounded pleased and a bit proud. My stomach was twisting uncomfortably from what I was hearing. Dimitri was getting sent away?

"When does he ship off?" Stan asked.

"In about a week, the Prince wants to get his numbers replenished quickly so there aren't any weak points in their defenses." Alberta was nonchalant about what she was saying. "It'll be a pity for Rose, though, she's become much more responsible since he started mentoring her."

Stan scoffed. "She's still bullheaded though. If she'd stop running off every chance she got, she'd be much better off. Besides, she's already proven herself skilled. There's not much more Belikov could do to help-"

I wasn't listening anymore; I pushed away from the bush and sprinted to the gym, not caring if they heard me. I couldn't believe what I'd just heard. Why hadn't Dimitri told me? Leaving in a week? I felt sick. He couldn't leave me, not after everything we'd been through. The attack had almost ripped him away from me, I wasn't going to have some stupid Prince take him now.

I pushed the doors to the gym open with more force than I intended to and stopped when I saw Dimitri in the middle of the floor waiting for me. His normal, calm guardian face looking at me. "You're late." He said, but I could see the small hint of a smile tugging at his lips. My resolve faltered. I couldn't confront him about it now. Not when his eyes made me want to melt.

"Shall we begin, Comrade?" I said in my usual tone. I didn't want him to know that I was upset. I just wanted to train and maybe I'd ask him once we were alone. Then he could tell me I had heard wrong, that there was no way he was being sent away.

Halfway through practice though, I couldn't take it any longer. We were in the middle of throwing punches and practicing blocking when, for some unknown reason, I cracked. "When were you going to tell me you were being reassigned?" He faltered and I slammed my fist into his side through the opening.

He quickly composed himself. "Where did you hear that from?" He pushed hard against me, trying to fake me out. He failed though.

"Stan and Alberta. When were you going to tell me?" I was getting frustrated now. He wasn't denying it like I thought he would.

"I wasn't. It's not important, Rose. I haven't even accepted it yet. I get offers all of the time." I fumbled and he managed to get a hard swing into my shoulder. Shit that hurt.

"Not important!" I dropped my arms and stepped away from him. "You've just been asked to guard a Prince who requested you specifically and you didn't think that was something you should bring up? You leave in a week, Dimitri!"

"Rose, I haven't accepted the offer." I thought I saw a flicker of annoyance flash through his brown eyes, and it set me off further.

"But you haven't refused it either. God, Dimitri how could you do this!" I slammed my palms against his chest in frustration, but he was hard steel under my hands. I lashed out to punch him but I instantly felt myself floating for a brief second before I was slammed harshly into the mat.

"Rose!" I could hear the frustration in his voice now. "You are acting like a child! Grow up." I stared up at his tall frame looking down at me, his face was shadowed but I knew he had his guardian mask up and firmly in place.

I kicked at his legs, setting him off balance, and as he stabilized himself, I ran out of the gym. "Rose!" He called after me, but I wasn't going to stop. I didn't want to see him.

I hadn't made it fifty feet from the gym when two of the newer guardians on campus approached me. "Rose Hathaway?" I looked up at them. I didn't have time for this.

"Who's asking?" I eyed them suspiciously and tensed, ready for a fight if it came to one. They looked between each other and stepped back a small step, it was to show me they weren't a threat. They obviously knew my reputation.

"We were sent by Headmistress Kirova, you're wanted in her office." Yep, I was in trouble. I nodded and walked ahead of them. I knew where I was going.

On the walk over, I pondered what I had done to deserve two guardians to escort me. I couldn't remember having done anything. Overall, I had been pretty quiet since the attack.

When we entered her office, she stood from her large mahogany desk that she was sitting at. "Thank you Guardians. That is all." I turned to leave with them. Hey, she'd said guardians. "Not you, Miss Hathaway." She barked.

"It was worth a try." I shot back at her with a dazzling smile. She gave me a glowering look.

"Sit down." She was being short with me; I seriously must have messed up. I sat down in the uncomfortable wooden chair in front of her that I had found myself in many times over my time at St. Vladimir's.

"I'm going to make this quick." She glared down at me with a cold look in her eyes. She seriously had an axe to grind with me, but I couldn't understand why. I had a feeling she was going to tell me though. "What is your relationship with Guardian Belikov, Miss Hathaway?"

I balked. That wasn't what I was expecting. "Well, it's been on and off since I came to the campus. You know, we always ended it when I ran off to save lives." The headmistress eyed me suspiciously. "Oh, I thought you meant our mentor-trainee relationship. Because," I leaned forward to drive my point home, "that's the only relationship we have."

Completely unimpressed, she grabbed a pile of papers from behind her and slammed them down inches in front of me. There was a name written across the top of them – Dimitri Belikov. "You aren't fooling anyone Rose. Now, you're going to tell the truth or I'm going to fire Guardian Belikov. You know what that means, don't you? He'll lose his job and he'll probably go to prison for statutory rape."

I kept a neutral guardian face, even though inside I was shaking. "You're bluffing."

She narrowed her eyes at me and leaned forward on her hands. "Try me."

I looked over at the papers sitting in front of me and realized they weren't just papers to fire Dimitri, no, they were papers to eliminate him as a guardian. He would no longer be able to work as a guardian for the rest of his life with this. I felt as if I'd been doused in cold water.

"Alright." I said slowly, sitting back. "We have a relationship, but I instigated it." I couldn't let Dimitri lose his career over me. It was everything to him to be a guardian. How could I ever face him if I was the cause of him losing all of that? Plus, he was the best of us and the Moroi needed him more than I did. No matter how much I hated to admit it. "I pushed and pushed until he finally gave into me."

"That's what I thought." She smiled a cold menacing smile. She looked like I had just made her day, no, like Christmas had just come early. She slid another piece of paper in front of me, but it was already signed and sealed.

My heart hit the floor. There was one word written across the top. Expulsion. I was being expelled from St. Vladimir's. "You can't do this! Trials are in a few months!"

The Headmistress laughed. "Yes, Rose, I can. Do you know why? Because who are you going to tell? If you tell anyone that I expelled you for being with Dimitri they will crucify him for being involved with his student. He would be labeled as a pedophile and wouldn't be able to work jobs that involved teenagers or children. Let alone be allowed at Royal Court. So tell me Rose, what can't I do?"

I bit my lip. I had no smart retort for her. She had beaten me. I had no out from here.

I would never be able to guard Lissa. Would never see Dimitri again…

I wasn't going to cry in front of her. I stood up and headed toward the door without waiting for an official dismissal. My hand was on the door before she spoke again. "You have until the end of the day to leave the premises. If you don't, I will file this paperwork." She put her hand over Dimitri's printed name for emphasis.

I pulled the door open and left her office for the last time, slamming it behind me. The cold Montana air hit my lungs as I stepped out of the Administration building, but I was still boiling inside. I was pissed. Without any forethought, I spun around and punched the brick wall of the building as hard as I could.

There was a loud crack and a sickening wave of pain ran up my arm. Fuck. I clamped my mouth shut so I didn't scream. The pain numbed some of the anger I was feeling, but looking down at my quickly swelling hand informed me I had done more than relieve the pent up anger I felt.

The sterile white walls and the smell of antibacterial cleaner hit my nose as I walked into Dr. Olendzki's clinic. She looked up at me from the computer she was typing at, her swivel stool squeaking as she did. One glace at my hand and she groaned. "Again Rose?"

I nodded sheepishly. I was one of her frequent fliers, especially since I started training under Dimitri. She led me over to a chair and poked my knuckles, causing me to emit a hiss. "You did a pretty good break here, Rose. It's going to need to be splinted for a few weeks. Now, you know the drill."

I rolled my eyes with a small smile. I was going to miss this. "No, I'm not depressed. As far as I'm aware I'm healthy. You see me so often for small breaks and bruises that I think you know that."

She laughed. "Since we're going to do an X-ray, I have one last question. I already know the answer to it, but I have to ask anyways. Is there any chance you could be pregnant?"

I shook my head automatically, but the question got me to thinking. When was my last period? I counted back four weeks and realized I hadn't had one since before the cabin. Six – seven weeks ago. I was stressed, that was normal, right? To miss your period when you're stressed? The doctor said something to me, but I missed it so I just nodded.

She left me alone in the exam room and I looked around it while I processed what I was just beginning to realize. I couldn't be pregnant. It was impossible, right? I'd only slept with Dimitri, and Dhampirs were infertile when they paired with each other. I heard the shuffling of feet down the hall and quickly stood up and went into the cabinet above me. I knew Dr. Olendzki kept pregnancy tests there because she had given one to a Moroi girl who was notorious for sleeping around the last time I was in here.

I stared at the little blue and white box for longer than I should have, contemplating whether or not I was acting rationally. The sound of Dr. Olendzki heading back toward the room made my decision for me. I grabbed one and shoved it into my hoodie pocket then quickly sat back down as she walked in.

"The X-Ray room is ready for you Rose." She smiled warmly at me.

"Is there anyway I can just splint it without the X-Ray, doc? I'll just have Lissa heal me when I get out of here." In reality, I just didn't want to risk the X-Ray in case I was pregnant. The doctor eyed me suspiciously then nodded.

"That's fine. I wondered why you didn't just go to her first honestly. It looks like it's just a small fracture." Her eyes crinkled at the corners. God, I was really going to miss her.

After Dr. Olendzki splinted me, I stood up to leave, but I paused right before I left. My heart hurt from the thought of never seeing her again. She had been my healer my whole life and scolded me for acting out. I never expected to feel this way, but I just felt really upset about it. "Thank you for everything you've done for me, Dr. Olendzki." I left without waiting to hear what she had to say, the little bell on her door chiming as I left.

I had never been so nervous to be in my dorms' bathroom. My splinted hand throbbed, but I couldn't think too much on it now. I went to the toilet and unboxed the test. I followed the instructions and then came out and waited.

Three minutes was too long.

I washed my hands for the longest I had ever done before then paced up and down next to the window that looked out onto the woods. In the distance, I could see the cabin where all of this started.

Finally, the test started to change colors. My heart clenched in my chest as I watched two pink lines show up. Positive.

Fuck.

I was pregnant with an impossible child that rivaled the virgin birth of Jesus.

The next thought that ran through my head was to go to Dimitri. It was his child, but it wasn't an option. Dimitri wanted children. He loved them and had mentioned to me before that he always wished he could have one. He would give up his whole career to make sure it was taken care of and loved. Also, Kirova would follow through with her threat if I didn't leave.

It was one thing for him to take a break from being a guardian; it was another for him to be barred from being one. I couldn't let him, or force him, to give up everything because of me. Even if I was pregnant, I had to protect him.

I plopped to the floor under the window and felt my cellphone press against my butt painfully. I pulled it out of my pocket uncoordinatedly with my left hand and cradled it in my palm.

I flipped through it absentmindedly and ended up in the contacts. As I flicked through them, I came across a name I never called. I hovered my finger over it debating whether it was a good idea, but where else could I turn?

It rang a few times before a female voice rang through the line. "Guardian Hathaway."

"Mom?" My voice cracked. I didn't realize how relieved I was to hear her voice. "Mom, I messed up."

The line went quiet for a few seconds. When she responded, she didn't sound angry. Huh, I guess I had earned some leeway after the Academy attack. "What happened?"

Without taking a breath, I told her everything that had happened. About Dimitri and the expulsion and how terrified I was that I would never get my promised mark. I was almost in hysterics by the time I finished telling her. I heard her take a deep breath.

"Wow. I wasn't expecting that. So, you were expelled because of your relationship with your mentor? The headmistress can't do that, Rose. This isn't the end." My mom sounded calmer than I thought she would.

"Mom, I won't be able to guard Lissa. I'll never get to guard anyone. I'll never get to be a guardian." I was in hysterics now. My mom had never heard me like this before.

"Rose, calm down. As pissed as I am that your mentor had a relationship with you, I'm more upset with the fact Kirova kicked you out over it and threatened you with Guardian Belikov's termination. I can keep you in school, Rose. So take a deep breath and get yourself together. We can fi-"

"Mom, I'm pregnant." I said softly. She stopped speaking suddenly and I could hear her brain piecing together all of the information I'd given her tonight. "I don't know what to do Mom."

"It is Dimitri's, isn't it?" Mom's voice was very quiet and calm, almost sickeningly so.

"Yes. I don't know how, but it is." I covered my mouth with trembling fingers. I needed to get myself under control.

"Stay at the Academy and wait for my phone call. I'll have you out of there in a few hours." We didn't say goodbye we just hung up. I had used all of my motherly love tokens for the year.

I stayed on the floor for a few more minutes, trying to get myself under control. With a deep breath, I finally pushed myself with a shaking hand and put the pregnancy test back in the box and hid it at the bottom of the trashcan inside of a tampon box. Ironic, no?

I picked my phone back up and called Lissa. "Meet me in my room." I said softly and hung up. I wasn't in the mood for explanations. I felt a pang of worry through the bond from her and knew she was on her way over.

I had already begun packing by the time she knocked on the door. "Come in." I called out to her. Her eyes were wide when she came into the room and saw my suitcase. My chest clenched painfully at the horror in her jade eyes. Her blond hair made her look like an angel I'd just wronged.

"Rose, what are you doing? You can't run off again. Not without me you can't." I looked at her sadly and stopped my fidgety packing so that I could hug her.

"I have to Lissa, but not because I want to." I launched into everything that had happened, just like I had with my mother. She was very surprised when I came to the bit about Dimitri and I, but she kept her composure brilliantly. She even gasped when I told her about why I had fought with him. When I finished, she pulled me into a hug and I buried my face into her hair. She smelt so good.

I felt the anger over the bond. "I'll take care of Kirova, Rose. I have some sway with the Royals and with my family's donation to the sch-."

I stopped her the same way I stopped my mother. "Lissa, it's no use. I'm pregnant."

She balked visibly. She was clearly taken aback and was trying to process the information. She opened her mouth to say something a few times, but always stopped. There was no mention of who the father was; she had pieced it together just like my mother had. When she didn't say anything I took her hand, "I'll be fine, Lissa. You just need to take care of yourself. I'll keep in touch and you know I'll always be there for you." I wiped away the tears on her cheek and smiled. "Besides, we'll always have the bond."

She whispered softly, "This means you can't be my guardian."

I felt I should be angry that that was her first concern, but instead I just smiled at her softly. I would always protect her over myself. "It'll be okay, Lissa." I felt my stomach sink again, just like it had when I had realized the same thing. I leaned forward and hugged her and she clung to me like she had so many times before. "We'll always be close, you know that right? Just because I'm not your guardian doesn't mean we can't be close."

She nodded, but I felt the sobs come up from her chest. Neither one of us had ever considered this a possibility nor did I really want it to be now. To be honest though, I couldn't see a way out.

When we pulled away form each other, I lifted my hands to cup her face and she realized I had the splint for the first time. "Rose, what did you do to your hand?" She laughed, it evaporated the tenseness of the room.

"I thought if I punched the wall hard enough, Kirova might feel it." I swung my splinted arm casually and we both laughed. Gently, she took my splinted hand and ran her fingers over it. I felt the magic flare through her and then into me.

I pulled the splint off and flexed my fingers attentively. No pain. "Thanks Lissa."

She smiled at me. "No problems."

An hour later, we were both sitting on my bare bed looking at the empty room around us. My single bag sat at our feet. We talked about the memories we shared at the Academy and laughed at all of the fun times we'd had. It was totally cliché, but sometimes cliché is nice.

My phone finally rang at four a.m., afternoon for the Moroi world. I checked the caller id, it was my Mom. "Go to the quad." She didn't give me a chance to say anything before she hung up.

Confused, I grabbed my bag and took Lissa's hand. As soon as I opened the door that led to the quad, I was met with the sound of helicopter rotors. "What the…" Lissa and I exchanged a confused look as a jet-black helicopter landed on the quad that often doubled as a landing pad.

I looked around us and realized we had drawn quite a crowd. "I always did love going out in style." I murmured.

A tall man with a dark braided goatee and a fancy suit stepped out of the helicopter. He had a pink and blue striped scarf around his neck that stood in sharp contrast to the rest of him. He looked around and saw me standing there with my bag in my hand.

He smiled broadly and started toward me. There was something comical about the fact a Moroi that looked like a mob boss was headed toward me, one that my mother had obviously summoned. This was an exit and a half, I thought to myself.

I stepped toward him and looked up at him when we were close enough to hear each other over the rotors. Thankfully, no one else watching could hear. "You must be Rose." He had a serious expression on his face, but it wasn't threatening. "I'm Ibrahim Mazur. I know you don't know me and I haven't been actively involved in your life, but that's about to change. Rose, I'm your father and I'm going to make sure that you and your child are going to be taken care of."

For the first time in my life, I was left speechless.

"Did my mother send you?" I asked once I composed my thoughts.

"Yes, but you can ask me everything once we're in the air. We need to get out of here." One of his guardians took my bag from my hand and Abe looked at it. "Really? Is that all you've got?" He chuckled to himself. "You don't get that from me."

I looked at him. Well, at least I now knew where my sense of humor came from. Ignoring him, I turned around and hugged Lissa. She looked worried by the man who stood in front of me. "I'll be alright Lissa." I whispered, well shouted, into her ear. The truth of the matter was, I was a bit nervous about him too, but I had no reason not to trust him. My mother wouldn't send someone to get me if she didn't trust them, and she didn't trust many people.

Lissa and I exchanged our goodbyes and I took Abe's outstretched hand. He led me to the helicopter, and as I boarded, I took one last look around the campus. I was shocked to see the number of people who were watching had doubled. As I ran my eyes over the Administration building, I saw a sight I had always wanted to see. In the door, Headmistress Kirova stood there with a pale, frightened look and she was looking right at the dark haired Moroi that had my hand.

Once the door was shut and I was buckled in, I looked over at the man who was getting me out of the Academy. "Looks like you've made quite an impression on the Headmistress." I said looking out the window. I was just beginning to realize how powerful of a Moroi my father was.

He laughed, a devil of a smirk on his lips. "Well, they've just lost most of their funding. I'd be scared too if I was her."

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