Disclaimer: HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT? Okay, fine. I don't own anything…

Hello people of Earth and various planets! It's here! The sequel to Shadow Heart is right below this! I won't keep you waiting anymore…

Rose

You know those times when you feel new; like there's a light at the end of a tunnel? That's how I've been feeling these past months. I was completely happy. I had Dimitri, I had Lissa, Ari, the kids, and yes…Even Christian. It killed me to say it, but he's been really supportive of me, Dimitri, and Ari. Dimitri and I finally got married, marking both me and Ari (We decided to change Ari's last name to Belikov) part of the Belikov family. Everyone had met the Belikovs' at the wedding, and they were staying for a couple days more. But with the days slowly approaching Tasha's trial, I began to get nervous. Shortly after the whole Tasha incident, I got my memory back, and it's been filling me in on everything Tasha did to me. It also reminded me of my powers. Lissa and I have been practicing my powers ever since that day. We liked to joke that I was the destructive one, and she was the healer. Of course, that was all true. Both with our polar opposite attitudes, and our powers.

Lissa had agreed with me that Yeva was some type of creepy. We even put her on a scale of creepiness. Well, I did. Lissa just watched with an amused expression on her face. We did a scale from one to ten. It was mounted up on my wall, since no one would dare come into my room, besides my daughter, Olena, Dimitri, and Lissa. Let's just say Yeva was way above ten. I suggested that we put Christian right above Yeva, but Lissa wouldn't allow it. Figures…

We walked down the stairs in the morning, Lissa carrying Marisa, and holding Jake and Melanie's hand, me just carrying Ari and a little one in my stomach. That's right; I got another one on the way. We got downstairs and Dimitri came over to take Ari from me. "Daddy!" she exclaimed. Dimitri just shook his head playfully, and set her down in a chair in between Melanie and Jake. I took my normal seat in between Lissa and Dimitri. Christian was next to Lissa and they were engaged in conversation. I glanced over at Dimitri, who was studying me. "What's wrong, Comrade?" I asked in my usual Rose attitude. He just shook his head playfully. "Well, Viktoria said that she wanted to take her sister shopping. Her words, not mine," he told me. After our fight in Russia, Viktoria held a little grudge against me. But when she came to the wedding, she explained that she felt bad for yelling at me. She'd tried to apologize but I wouldn't have that. Liss, Viktoria, and I loved to hang out. "Is Lissa going to go? Because where she goes; I go." Dimitri nodded. "Viktoria wants you, Lissa, and Ari to come with her and my sisters," "So in other words, an all girls outing?" Lissa asked, popping another piece of bacon in her mouth. Dimitri just nodded. I heard footsteps hitting the porch. Dimitri and I both stood up at the same time, both of us grabbing our silver stakes. We've had random Strigoi attacks, because the wards were broken. There were at least thirty guardians looking for a little opening that the Strigoi might've made. So in the meantime, all guardians were on high alert. We gestured the Moroi back. Dimitri and I stalked to the door. I counted to three and we swung the door open…and I almost staked Viktoria in the heart. She made a little yelp. "Roza, you weren't going to stake me, were you?" she asked. All of the Belikovs' call me Roza, since that's my name in Russian. I've gotten used to them calling me that. "No, of course not, Vikki," I said. I pocketed my stake. I led her over to Lissa and the rest of the group. "So…It's not a Strigoi?" asked Christian. "No, I most certainly am not. If I was, you'd already be dead." Viktoria said, putting her hands on her hips. Both of us loved to argue with Christian. "Yeah, right. I'd probably…" Lissa cut in. "So, are we heading out, or what?" "Totally. Do the boys want to come along?" I asked teasingly. "Ugh, no way. Maybe Dimitri does, but I'm certainly not," said Christian. "Suit yourself. But we just might try on some dresses for Lissa's party tonight," I told him. Lissa's party for…I don't know, something royal…was tonight. Anyway, everyone in Court was supposed to come, well, except for guardians. Usually Dimitri, Viktoria, and I would be standing along the wall, but Lissa absolutely refused.

After the long car ride to Missoula, we were finally at the mall. We got in and Lissa pulled us into the first store we saw. After hitting at least fifty other stores in about five hours, we decided to get something to eat. We walked over to the food court. Ari and I got pizza, Lissa got a salad, Dimitri got a blizzard, and Viktoria got McDonald's. After we had finished eating, Lissa said we had to hit one more store. I tried to get out of it by saying my feet hurt. "But we need to get dresses!" she exclaimed, leading us toward the dress shop. I lingered behind, before giving up and following. They come first.

The dress shop looked fancy inside, and dresses hung on racks. Manikins wore formal dresses in the store window. There were dresses for every occasion. It wasn't hard to find my dress. It was a sleek black dress with an open back. It clung to my every curve.(Pic on profile!) Lissa's dress was simple and elegant: It came down to the floor with a clear little gray sash that went down from the left shoulder and went around her waist. Perfect for a queen. (Pic on profile!) Viktoria's dress was a deep midnight blue that had flowers that went up the shoulder. There was also a shoe compartment where we got matching shoes. Well, I did. It was black high heels that were killer on me. (Pic on profie!)

We left the mall, hurrying a little since it was dark enough for Strigoi to be out. We were just about to the car when I felt it. Nausea. I stopped dead, pulling Lissa, who had walked ahead, behind me. I put her up against the nearest car, pressing flat against it. "Dimitri!" I yelled out. He took the hint and took out his stake, just as twelve Strigoi popped out from the forest's edge. Crap.

Well, there you go! Sorry to leave it at a cliffhanger…I'll UD soon, but I have homework still…..

All the best,

Guardian2Be