Ok, I caved. Here's another chapter. Just so you know, I probably won't be updating regularly. Actually, I don't know the next time I'll update. Today was a snow day though, and I got a burst of inspiration. Oh, right, disclaimer: I do not, under any circumstances, think that any part of Vampire Academy belongs to me and I am not trying to go against any copyrights. Richelle Mead is the author and owner of VA and I'm pretty happy with her version of the story, I'm just having some fun

Well, he most certainly is not some old guy, or a cranky, middle-aged woman like I had worried about. My instructor, Dimitri Belikov, was quite possibly the hottest guy I'd ever seen. Not only that, but he had an accent. I've never told anyone before, except maybe Lissa, but I love accents. His was gorgeous, Russian I think.

I could tell that he was older than me, but not by much. I noticed his eyes running over my body, and although his face showed no noticeable change, I saw his eyes darken. It was at that moment that I remembered what I was wearing, which wasn't much actually. The night before had been fairly warm – too warm for pajamas, so I just slept in a sports bra and underwear. I could feel a slight blush color my face but I wasn't one to be shy.

"See something you like," I asked with a smirk.

Dimitri apparently didn't feel that my question needed a response and said, "Get dressed and meet me in the gym in ten minutes." He then turned on his heel and left in the direction of our gym.

I closed the door and pressed my back against it. My face still warm from the encounter, I felt a smile slowly spread across it. This was going to be much more fun than I had thought.

A little over ten minutes later, I was in our "home gym." You see, it's not exactly what most home gyms are like; the only similarity really is that it is in our home. Our gym had a track for running and multiples of every gym machine you could imagine, along with a boxing ring so the guardians could spar and a few punching bags. My dad wanted the guardians to be in top shape at all times so that they could protect us if the time came, which it hadn't – yet.

I saw Dimitri leaning against the wall across from the door; he was standing on the track. I walked over to him, and once I was in hearing range he said, "You're late, start running laps." My eyebrows rose in surprise.

"What? I'm barely two minutes late!"

He let out a frustrated sigh. "Your father told me that you wanted to be trained like a guardian. This is how we train; you can either get used to it or give up now."

I stared at him in shock. No one, and I mean no one, had ever talked to me like that in my life. I looked at the ground and thought for a minute. I thought about how much I wanted this, I thought about why I wanted this, and I made my decision. I looked at Dimitri square in the eyes.

"I need to do this," I told him determinedly, "I'll do whatever it takes." He nodded and opened his mouth to talk. I interrupted him, "But you have to promise me something." It was his turn to be surprised.

"What," he asked suspiciously.

"Promise me that you'll teach me what it really means to be a guardian," I said, more serious than I had ever been about anything. "Not just the fighting, I want to know everything that goes into being a guardian." For the first time, his face softened and a slight smile graced his face. I felt my heart skip a beat, I wasn't aware that that actually happened to people, but I swear it did.

Then he looked into my eyes with so much sincerity and said, "I promise." We looked into each other's eyes for another moment until he looked away, an unreadable expression on his face. When he looked back, his guardian mask was back on, but I could see the smile in his eyes. "Now," he said, his Russian accent making my heart stutter, "start running." I gave him a smile and then took off running at a fast pace.

When lunch time finally came around, I was starving, having not eaten breakfast that morning. I sat at the table with Lissa and my father, shoveling food into my mouth. Dimitri, seeing as he was a guardian, would be eating with them in the staff room.

"Slow down Rose," said Lissa, amused, "the food's not going anywhere." I glared at her and swallowed my mouthful of food.

"Hey," I said defensively, "not everyone got to eat breakfast this morning." She just laughed in response.

"So, Rose," my father interrupted, "how do you like your training so far."

"It's harder than I thought it would be," I began, "but I like it so far." And I definitely like the instructor, I thought to myself.

"Good, I'm glad," he said. "It will give you something to do while Lissa and I are away for the next few days." I was used to my dad going away on business, but Lissa leaving was a surprise to me. I looked at her in confusion.

"I'm going to court to visit Adrian for about a week," she said. "We're going to work on spirit. He's disappointed you won't be coming with me though." I felt a little bad that Lissa was going to see Adrian when I wasn't, but I didn't feel bad for me, I felt bad for him. Not in an egotistical way as in, "I'm so amazing it's too bad he can't see me right now." I felt bad that I wasn't being a good girlfriend. Good girlfriends wanted to be with their boyfriends most of the time. Good girlfriends didn't lust after their trainers.

I pushed those thoughts aside and forced a teasing smile on my face. "Hey, at least this way he'll be able to concentrate on spirit instead of his gorgeous girlfriend." Lissa rolled her eyes and laughed, and I was thankful that the bond was only one way. I didn't want her to know about my relationship doubts.

I was glad when my father spoke again so that I could fully leave that train of thought behind me. "I'll be sending two guardians with Lissa and I'll need a few to accompany me on my trip, so that leaves you with Belikov and Tanner."

I smiled; Mikhail Tanner was my favorite of the guardians. He was a good listener and a lot of fun to be around. He was also the one guardian who fully accepted the fact that I was being raised by a Moroi, which was very odd for a Dhampir. Then my smile grew even wider when I realized that apart from Mikhail, Dimitri and I would be alone for over a week. As much as I loved Lissa and my father, I couldn't wait for them to leave. This was going to be one interesting week.

My father and Lissa left early the next morning, and as soon as they were gone, Dimitri had me running around the track while he sat and read a book; a western from what I could tell.

"You know," I said when I was running past him, "the least you could do is run with me." The only response was a short glance before he went back to reading. After running for about 5 miles, Dimitri began teaching me how to fight. It was a long process and thankfully he was very patient, because I had never fought before. If he thought it was strange that I had no experience or prior training at all, he didn't show it, for which I was glad; the constant surprise from everyone upon first learning that I was a Dhampir girl who was raised by her Moroi father got annoying fast.

After my sparring lesson came lunch and then he would teach me the principles of being a guardian. One day, Dimitri was telling me about the mantra that he was taught in school. Although I already knew that Dhampirs felt that Moroi were incredibly important, the mantra of "They come first" was a bit strange to hear.

"You can't be serious," I said when Dimitri first told me. "I mean, they can't always come first. We matter too."

"Well of course we matter," Dimitri replied, "but our race wouldn't even exist if it weren't for them. We have to protect them, and if that means putting our lives at stake, then we do it."

"That's insane," I practically shouted. "It almost sounds as if you've all been brain-washed."

Dimitri sighed. "You didn't grow up the way the rest of us have, you wouldn't understand."

"Oh, I understand," I said. "I understand that the Moroi think that if they drill that mantra into your heads from the time you're born, you'll think that it's the truth and they won't have to go out and risk their necks. They're only interest is protecting themselves!" My voice was getting louder the more I went on. "They don't care about us. They don't care that most of us don't ever get to have a normal life or a normal family. As long as they're kept safe, what do Dhampir lives matter?" I stopped and felt my throat tighten and tears come to my eyes. "Why should they care that I don't even know my own mother," I said in a whisper. Dimitri was silent and I froze for a moment, fully realizing what I said. I never talked about my mother. Not even to Lissa or my dad. I had only known this guy for a few days and here I was divulging my biggest secret.

A single tear fell down my cheek and I looked down, avoiding Dimitri's eyes. He put his hand under my chin and lifted my face to look into my eyes. When I looked at him, I saw his mouth pulled into a frown and his eyes were full of sympathy and compassion.

"Oh Roza," he said, his voice soft. "I'm sorry." He moved his hand to a strand of hair that was hanging in my face and gently tucked it behind my ear. "Please don't cry, I didn't mean to upset you." Unfortunately, that only made the tears come freely and I let out a strangled sob. Dimitri pulled me to his chest and wrapped his arms around me, rubbing my back soothingly. He held me until I calmed down and I was almost sorry to stop crying because it felt so right to be in his arms, more right than in Adrian's.

When I finally did stop crying, he put his arms down but stayed where he was. "I don't usually talk about my mom," I admitted. "I don't know what came over me, I'm sorry for being such a mess."

"I'm the one who should be sorry," said Dimitri gently. "If I had known that it would upset you so much I never would have-"

"Stop," I interrupted, "it's not your fault. I told you to teach me what it meant to be a guardian. You were only doing what I asked." We were silent for a moment until I remembered something that he had said before. "You called me 'Roza.'" I said, "What does it mean? Is it Russian?"

He gave me a small smile. "Yes it is Russian, Roza means Rose." I couldn't help but smile.

"Roza," I repeated, feeling the way it rolled off my tongue. "I like it. Thanks Comrade."

He laughed, and I rejoiced at the sound having never heard it before. "Comrade," he questioned. "Do you even know what you're talking about?"

"I know plenty," I replied flirtatiously. He then seemed to notice how close we were and, unfortunately, stepped back. I stepped forward, closing the distance between us.

"Roza," he warned, his voice wary.

"What?" I asked in an innocent voice.

"This isn't right," he said.

"Why? I'm nearly 18 and you can't be that much older than me."

"Age isn't the only factor," he said.

"What else is there?"

"I was employed by your father and I don't think he would appreciate it if you and I were to…" he paused, "engage in a relationship." I rolled my eyes.

"You're worried about my father?" I asked. "Don't be, he wouldn't hurt you if I asked him not to."

He sighed and stepped back again. "This whole conversation is pointless anyway."

"How?" I asked, taking another step closer and closing the distance yet again. "What else is wrong besides my age and my father?" I honestly couldn't figure it out.

"What about your boyfriend," he asked and again, stepped back. This time I stayed put. Adrian, how could I forget all about him? I felt like a complete jerk. Dimitri took advantage of my silence. "I am not the type of man who would get involved with a woman who is already taken."

"I wasn't saying that you were," I said quietly. I felt horrible. I never thought I would be that girl; the girl who forgot all about her boyfriend whenever he wasn't next to her, the girl who cheated on her boyfriend….

"I think that's enough training for today," Dimitri said. "I'll see you tomorrow." Once he was gone, I walked slowly back to my room and sank down into my bed, not sure of what to do next. I knew that I really liked Dimitri, and I always knew that I didn't really love Adrian, at least, not like he wanted me to. At the same time, however, I didn't know if I could break up with him. If I was going to break up with him though, it was not going to be in a dream or on the phone; that was cheap and tacky. If I was going to break up with him, it would be in person.

Maybe I should go visit him, I thought. Maybe if I see him in person, I'll know for sure what to do next. I had a sinking feeling though that my visit was not going to be a happy one.

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