Viktoria couldn't help but watch, completely entranced. Two figures stood back to back in the midst of Strigoi, their silver stakes glinting in the light as they fought. They were obviously very well trained; they matched the speed of their opponents, their stakes snaking out faster than she could follow into the chests of the Strigoi that they fought against. She could see the discipline in their movement's too; they were probably guardians. She vaguely wondered where their charges were, but all of her attention was focused on the fight.

Viktoria had never even seen a Strigoi before, and here she was now, watching two guardians defeat almost a dozen of them. She felt slightly dizzy as she observed the pale skin, and the red eyes, along with the unnatural speed and strength. Seeing them made her feel slightly nauseous, thinking about what kind of evil could have turned normal people inot monsters that snapped at you neck and killed you off at an impossible speed. Even though she'd been taught about it, she could have never prepared herself for the real thing. She shivered slightly and clutched the sleeping Stephan closer, needing his warmth closer.

The Strigoi definitely outnumbered them, but the pair held their ground well, fighting on par and wounding them. Some of the older, paler Strigoi held back, not wanting to jump in as the two dhampirs slaughtered their underlings. What did they care? The younger Strigoi were just pawns, pawns who had to obey their seniors, pawns who did the manual labor while they didn't have to trouble themselves with two dhampirs. And they would have to share the blood, fresh blood, the blood that pounded through the veins of the two guardians.

But the guardians wouldn't let any of them go. After easily staking the ones that had surrounded them, they attacked the outer circle, separating as the ran up to meet their new opponents. These Strigoi were much fiercer and experienced than the first ones, angling their bodies in a way that made it harder for the dhampirs to stake them properly. Viktoria watched as the shorter one- the female, she reasoned- shoved her opponent against the alley wall, driving her stake through the heart. She jerked out the sharp weapon without a moment's hesitation and rounded on the next one, slashing through his clothes and causing him agony as the charmed metal came in contact with his flesh. She spun around to face another one creeping up on her, kicking out his legs before rounding on the wounded one and piercing his heart.

The other guardian was even fiercer than the female, moving swiftly and taking down one quickly without hesitation. He slammed the next one into the one who had crept up on his partner, catching them both off guard and allowing the guardian to stake the first one while his partner took out the other. The fallen Strigoi lay unnaturally still and even more pale than usual, and Viktoria could bring herself to look at them. They had all been people at one time or another, but they had to be killed. It was the right thing to do, she had been taught, but it still shocked her. Even if she'd heard of death, it still bothered her to see it. It was so sudden, so shocking, and it was a force she could never fight, but she couldn't take her eyes away from the violent battle.

Suddenly, the female cried out. One of the Strigoi had emerged from the shadows without their noticing, and he'd grasped her neck in his hands. Viktoria suddenly felt herself go cold all over; he was going to break her neck. She could see it in his stance, in his expression, which was filled with malice. But before he could do anything, he stopped, and Viktoria saw why; protruding from his chest was the tip of a silver stake. Her companion had staked him right through the back.

Impossible. Only milliseconds before, the girl was only seconds away from death. And now, the attacker lay dead at her feet.

And the whole thing had taken under ten minutes.

No more Strigoi sprang at them as they leaned against the walls, catching their breath. The male spoke first.

"Are there any more?" English. Viktoria could hear a faint Russian accent.

"No." She responded with a very American accent, and she sounded absolutely certain. The female kicked the one who had grabbed her with disgust. "Nathan." The name was filled with disgust and hatred, and she kicked him over again. "Dead at last."

Those voices. Even as they tried to catch their breath, Viktoria recognized them from somewhere. But her mind was still wound up on the edge from what she had just seen, and she couldn't comprehend what had happened.

She could hear a slight smile in the males voice when he spoke again. "Inna will be sad," he remarked.

The female snorted. "If she's still human, she's lucked out. She won't see him for quite a while."

He surveyed the scene around him as he walked across the small alley to stand next to her. "We need to contact the Alchemists. we shouldn't just leave the bodies laying around here."

She snorted. "I would have done that the first time I came here. Boy, Sydney was pissed when she found me."

The male let out a small chuckle, which broke off abruptly. "You're bleeding." Viktoria saw him touch her forehead delicately.

She touched her head and shrugged. "I'm alive. Besides, Lissa can just heal this for me."

"Is she still okay?"

The female nodded. "Christian and their guardians are with her. She sightsee to her heart's content."

"That's good."

"I know."

The sat next to each other, leaning against the wall without really saying anything. It was like they drew strength from each other's presence, not needing to talk at all. The moon, which was hidden by clouds previously, was finally revealed by the clouds, letting a little more light in the dark alley. The girl looked upwards and grasped his hand gently. "The moon is really beautiful today."

"It is," he agreed, and the fell silent again. Viktoria didn't need to look to know that he had kissed her. Her chest ached.

After another moment or so, she felt Stephan stir slightly in her arms, bringing her back to reality. The rest of her group would be wondering what happened. But before she could take a step, he started crying.

The female snapped around immediately, But Viktoria was already gone, clutching her child and rocking him gently as she hurried away from the alley.

Thoughts whirled around in Viktoria's mind as she merged back into the population. Earlier when the moon came out, she was able to see the girl. When she turned to face her, VIktoria could make out the details of her face. And out of all the people she could have found there, she was one of the last people she wanted to find her.

Because even after three years, she could still recognized the face and the voice of Rose Hathaway.