"Hmm, how about no." Adrian smiled and stood up before walking to the bar and pouring himself another drink. Her smile faded and she stood up, crossing her arms over chest.

"Why not?" He took a swing of his drink before turning back to her and smiling when he took in her defiant appearance.

"Maybe because you didn't ask very nicely love." She rolled her eyes as he took another drink and walked towards the bed again. She took a deep breath and smiled as she followed him around to the side of the bed and placed her hand on his arm.

"Will you take me to see the queen please?" He smiled at her and lightly stroked the side of her face, along her faded tattoo no doubt.

"No." Her smile quickly disappeared and she snatched away from his touch, she didn't mean to but she knew she was pouting. He chuckled and set his drink down on the bedside table before walking towards her but she stepped back away from him.

"Are you really pouting?" She rolled her eyes and started walking towards the door but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back. She turned to face him and regretted looking into his eyes when she remembered how beautiful they were.

"I need to see the queen, it's important." He took another sip of his drink and dropped the cup on the floor and grabbed her waist with both hands and pulled her closer.

"Okay, I'll take you to see the queen." She smiled and started to walk towards the door but the hold on her waist tightened. "But first you have to do something with me." His face twisted into a mischievous smile and despite her desperate need to see the queen she briefly considered turning him down.

"Do what?" She knew he wouldn't tell her but she couldn't help but ask.

"You'll see." With that he walked past her and opened the door to his apartment and turned back to her. "Are you coming?" She rolled her eyes at him and smiled.

"Lead the way."

Adrian Ivashkov certainly is a Moroi full of surprises. When he asked her to come do something with him in return for taking her to see the queen she figured it would be something predictable. This is something she never could have imagined someone like him doing.

"Are you just going to stand there looking at me or are you actually going to do something?" He smirked and turned back to what he was doing. She turned back to her blank, white canvas and the dry, colorless paintbrush in her hand. She'd never really been into art and this was the first time she'd ever really had the opportunity to paint something. For the first time she didn't know what to do.

"What should I paint?" She asked him without looking away.

"Whatever you want, the first thing that comes to your head." She closed her eyes and let her mind go blank. She thought about so many things all the time but none that she could express on a canvas. And then she got it. She opened her eyes and started to paint. It seemed like she didn't even need to think about what she wanted to paint because her body was doing it on its own. She had never thought about how amazing it was to create something out of nothing. She never thought it was something she could accomplish. Before she knew it she had complete covered her canvas with color; Blue, green, red, pink, yellow, she'd used them all, and it was beautiful.

"What on earth are you making?" Adrian had apparently finished his creation and moved closer to her in order to peer over her shoulder and criticize her painting. The way he said it made it seem like it he didn't like it. She shouldn't care if her likes it or not but unfortunately, she did. She wanted to see his and say something equally as insulting about his work.

"It is my painting." She stared at the canvas and she was reminded of the last happy memory she had of her family. "You said to paint the first thing that came to my head." His face twisted into a look of total confusion.

"What is it though?" He squinted his eyes and moved closer the canvas. "Lollipops in green jello?" She gave him an exasperated look and rolled her eyes.

"No, they're roses." For reasons she was not sure of, at the mention of roses, Adrian's demeanor changed completely. He turned away from her painting and sat back down in front of his own. Despite the relief she felt from him not being over her shoulder anymore, she could not help but notice the strange change in him.

"Let me see yours." There was no way she was going to let him get away without showing her what he created. He smirked and shook his head.

"There you go being demanding again." She sighed and turned to face him.

"Show me yours please." He smiled and at first she thought that he might actually act like a grown adult and show her his painting. However, with Adrian you can't expect him to act like anything less than himself.

"I think that's something we should do in the privacy of my room." She rolled her eyes again at him and restrained the need to punch him in his pretty face.

"Adrian," she said standing up and walking towards him but he held a hand out to stop her.

"Alright, alright," he said as laughter overtook his body. Once he stopped laughing he lifted his canvas of the easel and turned it toward her. If she thought her painting was beautiful then his had no description. He didn't use nearly as much color as she did but somehow his had more depth and meaning than anything she could have created. The only thing that burdened it, even in the slightest, is the fact that it was her. Her face, she knew because of the faded, barely visible, lily on the cheek of the girl's face. It was her tan skin and her brown eyes framed by her dark brown hair. She tore her eyes away from the painting and looked to Adrian.

"It's beautiful," she wanted to say more but her thoughts were interrupted when she heard one of the girls in the room screech.

"Rose Hathaway, what are you doing here?" Again, she noticed, when Adrian heard that name she saw him change before her eyes. She saw the pain in his eyes as he turned to look at her and she followed suit. She girl she saw, a dhampir, was definitely something to look at. Her figure, something that moroi and some humans would kill for, made her exotic looking. She had long dark hair that went down the length of her back. Her face was pretty but was overshadowed by the rest of her features. She held a conversation with the screechy blonde girl until she scurried to the back room. That's when Rose turned and saw them staring at her. It looked like she wanted to smile but decided against it once she saw Adrian's expression. The awkwardness was a little too much for her to bear so she decided that she would break the silence.

"Who is that?" Adrian was still watching her and she saw a mix of a emotion come over him. The constant emotions she saw was anger, pain and longing. Even though she didn't know this girl personally she knew exactly who she was. This was the girl who broke Adrian's heart.

"That, sweetheart, is Rose Hathaway."