Not only was I expelled, but I was arrested as well. Life just couldn't get any better. I glared at the handcuffs and shook it. I really hated my life right now.

"What were you doing in the woods, Miss. . ."

I scowled and said, "I already told you! I was going for a walk."

"You attacked a guardian intentionally throwing a rock at him. You ran away and punched him in several places. Can you explain your actions?"

"I didn't mean to attack him! I didn't even know there was somebody behind the bushes, okay? I was scared, alright?! And what's with the guardian thing? You know what, I don't care. Now un-cuff me!"

The old guy stood up and said, "Miss, you will be escorted to your cell until the court sees to your case."

"What?!"

Two men came in and pulled me up to my feet. I growled when I couldn't get out of their strong grasp. I glared daggers at him and said, "You can't jus- Wait! Are you guys with the police?"

They all looked at each other. I took my opportunity and swung my leg to kick the guy in the face. He felt backward with a broken nose. I elbowed the guy on my right in the stomach and kicked in the other one in crotch. I yanked the door open and faced the guy who arrested me in the woods. He reacted quickly by twisting my arms back in a weird position. I let out a cry and stomped his foot as hard as I could. I did a very girly thing after that. I slapped his face with my cuffed hands, leaving a bright red mark on his cheek.

"Hey! That hurts!" He stepped back, holding his cheek like a small child.

I rolled my eyes and said, "Well, it's supposed to, you idiot!" I raced out the door and pushed anything and anything that was in my way. More people came after me. The whole place seemed like a maze and I couldn't find the way out. What the heck?!

Before I could continue my run, I fell hard on my face. I winced, gritting my teeth. H-how? I forced myself to look up and saw a man with shoulder-length brown hair. He was tall and something about him told me not to mess with him. I swallowed and gave up. I faced down and said, "Fine. You got me." I was sore tired and my biggest concern was my little sister Ava. Goodness knew how worried she could get and the extreme measures (unwisely) she would take. I just wanted to get back to her.

"This looks bad, man! I can't believe you couldn't handle a human girl and Guardian Belikov had to come and solve all of this!"

Guardian Belikov? I knew that name from somewhere.

"Chill! He can't do much to us."

"Not that easy. He is Head Guardian, remember? Next time, drill that into your skull."

"Com-"

"No, Kashton. Good luck!"

I watched 'Kashton' and his friend bicker for over five minutes. The second the door slammed shut, his hateful glare was on me.

"Look, whoever you are, you got me into some deep crap here, alright?!" he said, pointing his index finger at me.

I raised my eyebrow at him and replied, "I told you to let go of me." He frowned and roughly grabbed my shoulders.

"Who-are-you," he asked, emphasizing every word.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out."

Before he could open his mouth, the door swung open and the same guy 'Guardian Belikov' who seemed well-respected by his peers strode in calmly. My hateful buddy 'Kashton' backed away and stood by the wall. Now all he needed was to stand in the corner and think about what he did wrong. The Belikov guy pulled a chair and sat in front of me. I lifted my cuffed my hands up and said, "I'm sure you're all ears about me."

He leaned back and asked, "You put up a good fight, especially for your age."

I shrugged, "So?"

"So you understand why we're keeping you here?"

"I understand this situation as well as I understand calculus."

"Who trained you?"

"T-trained me?"

"Who taught you to fight like that?"

I smirked and replied, "Easy. Life."

He leaned back and looked at me for a few seconds. "I've heard all about the chaos you caused earlier. I want to hear your side of the story."

"Just let me go."

"Your name?"

"Seriously, knock it off!"

"Alexiana."

I stared at him. "How did you know my name?" I asked. The only thing that was keeping me from shooting out of this chair, were the rope and handcuffs.

He sighed and said, "I am not foolish, Alexiana. I found your name tag on your backpack. However, you did not write your last name."

I ignored him and decided to make the wall my view instead. This was getting to far and too long. Ava needed me. We needed each other. I needed to get back to her now.

I turned to him and asked, "If I told you my last name, would you let me go?"

"On my condition as well," he answered, "You can leave as a Guardian and nothing else."

I scoffed and said, "You're crazy. I am not joining your little stupid organization that's gonna get shut down in a few days. And Guardian? What the duck is that, huh? This isn't a game, you Bulgarian twerp!"

"As a matter of fact, Alexiana, I am not Bulgarian. I am Russian and I have worked here for more than ten years. A girl like you with skills like that, it'd be a waste to let you walk away. I am offering you a job. The pay is enough to care for two people and you only have to do one thing: protect your assigned person with your life."

"From what? Robbers? Hijackers? Gangsters? A job like that, I could go and apply as a club bouncer."

"No, something far more . . . lethal."

I sighed and said, "Look, I'm really tired. My life is a total screwed-up. I have things I need to take care of. So will you just stop all of this?"

I was done playing their games. I was sick of being tied to the chair and handcuffed all the time. Belikov stood up to his full height and said, "I am going to be honest, Alexiana. You remind me of a girl I once knew a long time ago. She had the very same fire you have now in your eyes. Become a guardian and be free, or stay here until you change your mind."

"Fine! I'll do it alright?!" I surrendered unwillingly. "I accept the job."

"You can't tell anybody about this. No one," Belikov emphasized. I rolled my eyes in response. They took off my handcuffs and untied me. I massaged my wrist and stood up, hating everything and everyone.

"You still haven't told me your last name."

"It's Hathaway. My name is Alexiana Hathaway," I replied, getting impatient.

Something flashed into his eyes momentarily. Like my last name struck him. He nodded and told the guys to let me go. He specifically told me to return the next day and if I didn't they'd find me.

Now, it was time to find Ava.