I was in a good mood so I just decided to post a little earlier!

Here's chapter 2! Reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated..

I also made a mistake in the previous chapters. I forgot to mention that rose and Andre Dragomir briefly dated in their early twenties, sorry about that.

CHAPTER 2: DIMITRI

Dimitri straightened his tie nervously. Usually he accompanied his charge Ivan Zeklos to royal events around the world as his guardian. For only the second time in his eight years of guarding him, he was going by himself.

"Stop stressing Dimka" he heard the soothing voice of his sister, Victoria belikova. She was also attending as a guest, only it was her first time. She guarded a lady Conta; she was the only woman in their family to finish her guardian training and graduate as one. Unlike most guardians who guarded people who they had known for a while, Vika had requested for a charge who she had never met before.

She was assigned Lady Camille Conta, someone who had the same idea of getting someone who she hadn't met before. The two had hit off immediately and were a great example of charge and guardian with a good relationship.

Dimitri turned around and sighed. "I know Vika." he stated, "but I feel uncomfortable without Ivan"

Vika smiled. Dimitri looked at her dress. It was black and strapless and was fitting until the waist then flowed to the ground. A Plain and simple dress. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you trying to grab someone's attention?" he asked with an amused smile. She scoffed "why? Do I need a reason to look nice" she said with a glare. He quickly took a step back and apologized. The belikova women could be scary if they wanted to.

Suddenly Vika became nervous. "The queen will be there right?" she mumbled. "I've never seen her before"

Dimitri smiled softly at his younger sister. "You have no reason to be worried. She is a wonderful and kind person." He said quietly. She looked up at her brother "But what about her guardian? I've heard that she is badass and beautiful" she grinned. "I've seen her before, at the coronation" Dimitri said shaking his head at his sister's choice of words. (A/N: they have seen each other but only briefly). "She is pretty badass" he laughed. "But with Zmey and a Hathaway as parents it's hard not to be"

They smiled and prepared to leave. The ball was to start in about half an hour, but Vika wanted to get there early to meet people. Soon they both left for the ball.

In the ballroom, Vika's eyes widened once she saw someone and she nudged Dimitri with her elbow. He grunted in pain and gave her a questioning look. "There's Zmey." She hissed. She continued "and look who he's talking to." Dimitri could make out a tall and regal figure talking to Zmey. It was obviously a moroi. What came next really surprised him.

Zmey, a man known and feared all over Russia and turkey guffawed loudly. It was then that Dimitri noticed who he was speaking to. It was the queen of the moroi, Vasilissa Dragomir. He reached over and -Dimitri's eyes widened in shock. Zmey just ruffled his Monarch's hair.

The moroi man glanced over and realized that Dimitri was standing there. He made the 'come here' motion with his hand. Dimitri gulped and he and Vika shared a look.

They walked over to the queen and Zmey. Lissa smiled brightly at them and reached over to shake Dimitri's hand. Surprise laced his voice when he asked "Your majesty?". She scoffed. "Nonsense Dimitri, any friend of Uncle Abe's is a friend of mine. You may call me Lissa"

Vika hesitantly cracked a smile "Uncle Abe?" she questioned. Lissa laughed "And you must be guardian Belikova. Camille has told me a lot of good things about you." Vika's eyed widened in surprise and awe. The queen of the moroi had just complimented her.

Abe turned over to Dimitri and spoke in Russian "How is olena?" Lissa smacked Zmey on the back of his head "It's bad enough when you and rose start speaking in Turkish, stop speaking Russian" she snapped. He held his hand up in defeat a small smile gracing his features.

To say Dimitri and Victoria were shocked was an understatement. One of the most influential moroi and the most dangerous moroi were bickering like family. But of course, Dimitri realized. They were family. Rose was Abe's daughter and Lissa's guardian. Not to mention that they had a bond.

Dimitri replied that she was doing well. Abe turned to Lissa and asked "where is that insane daughter of mine? Isn't she supposed to be at your side all the time?"

Lissa replied that she was safe enough and gestured to a surly looking guardian a few feet behind them. She lowered her voice "that's Emory, he's my near guard for now. Where's Aunt Janine?" Lissa asked with a frown. Dimitri didn't think he could be any more surprised.

"With Rose" he said shaking his head "they're both getting ready together. That's why I asked you"

Lissa shrugged her delicate shoulders. "How am I supposed to know?"

Abe gave her a look and tapped her forehead. Lissa sighed and nodded. Her eyes glazed over and a look of concentration crossed her face. (A/N: she can't see through rose's eyes but they can send messages back and forth)

Her eyes cleared and she spoke "They're on the way". Vika stiffened and Lissa looked over at her. "Don't worry" she said gently. "I know that rose's reputation precedes her but she is really sweet once you get to know her" Abe snickered at Lissa's words and she lightly hit his arm.

Just then people started filling in. Only two of them caught Dimitri's eye. One was a redheaded Scottish woman who he was well acquainted with. Janine Hathaway Mazur was one of the most formidable guardians he knew. He wouldn't dare cross her, he valued his life.

He looked at the woman next to her. She was tall for a female Dhampir. Lean and curvy, with light muscle on her arms. Her body was slim and only her shoes were visible under her dress. He looked up at her face and forgot how to breathe. He remembered her being beautiful at the queen's coronation three years prior, but the person standing in front of him was a goddess.

Her face was heart shaped, with large brown doe eyes. He had lived in a house full of women long enough to notice what kinds of makeup they wore. Her face had light makeup, around the eyes and on the lips, but that was all.

Her nose was straight and her cheekbones were high. Her lips were pouty and full, painted a dark shade of red. He knew who she was before she had even spoken. This was rose Hathaway Mazur.

Then she grinned and spoke. "Now that I've entered, looks like the party can start" holy shit. If the beauty wasn't enough, her voice did it. Oh her voice. It was melodious and slightly husky. He was stunned. That was an incredible feat. It was extremely tough to stun Dimitri belikov. She hadn't even directed her words to him but she had done it.

Lissa shook her head at Rose's antics.

Turns out Vika had no reason to worry. Shortly after their little chat with the Mazur family, Lissa left to socialize with other non-royal moroi. Janine and Abe left and were quietly speaking in a corner, Abe's arm loosely hanging on her waist.

Rose and Vika started a conversation about some recent Dhampir rights movement while Dimitri stood there silently, bored without anyone to talk to. Victoria saw someone she knew and went to talk to them, leaving only rose and Dimitri standing. "Do you want a drink?" she asked softly.

Dimitri was in awe that a Dhampir legend was speaking to him, but he kept his guardian mask in place. "Dimitri" she prodded. He realized he hadn't answered, and nodded at her. She rolled her eyes. "You know," she started "I'm starting to think that you're a mute."

He cracked a smile and said that he wasn't. Rose downed two drinks and pulled him to the dance floor.

They started dancing to the beat. Rose looked up at him and started to talk "it's okay to let loose in a while" she stated. "Don't waste the opportunity". He looked down at her and smiled. She was right. This was one of the few times he was allowed to have fun. He wasn't going to waste it. They started up a conversation about their childhoods and realized that they were pretty similar.

After about an hour they sat down and Vika joined them. Soon a handsome guardian sat down next to Rose. She grinned and kissed his cheek "took you long enough" she exclaimed at him. Dimitri's heart sank. Of course she had a boyfriend. He glanced down at her hand. No ring visible. She turned towards them and introduced the other man to the siblings. "This is Guardian castile, one of my closest friends" she added.

Vika glanced between them. "Um" she started. "Just friends?" she questioned hesitantly. The two 'friends' shared a look and rose assured Vika that they were just friends. Vika relaxed her shoulders.

An evil grin crept up on Rose's face and she directed it at Vika "Why? Would you be jealous if we were more?" she questioned. Vika shuffled uncomfortably. Rose discreetly jabbed Eddie in the side. He hurriedly got up and offered a hand to Victoria. "Would you like to dance?" he asked softly. Dimitri glared at him. Victoria was still his baby sister. She happily accepted his hand and replied softly, "I would love to"

Soon after that Rose left after wishing Dimitri a good night. After that the ball didn't seem that interesting. He saw Vika and Eddie dancing close together to a slow song.

He sighed and made his way to the room he was sharing with Ivan temporarily. He made sure to be quiet and padded softly to his room. He changed and then lied down on his bead, arms crossed behind his head. For some reason he couldn't sleep for a long time, but when he did, his dreams were filled with a certain brown haired beauty.

Do you want a rose's POV of the same scene, or something else? Please review, it means a lot to me.