For everyone who was curious about the murderer, here you go. There are some really intense news in Rose's life, hope you like it ;D

I love the reviews; keep telling me what you think! They encourage me to write. You have no idea how great it is to read them.

Now, enough with the talking. Good reading!

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but the plot and a few characters!

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Rhonda had told me in my last tarot reading that I had an enemy, but I didn't give it much thought. I mean, it was so obvious at the time, since Tatiana was still alive. If not sanctimonious bitch, then who?

At first, I couldn't understand why her. I thought she was, if not a friend, someone decent. Someone that had showed respect for me. What reasons could she have to kill the Queen? She fooled us all.

Tatiana's end began when she somehow found the letters exchanged between Eric Dragomir and this Jane Doe. They discussed a child and expressly stated a Moroi's name – Daniella Ivashkov's name. Apparently, Daniella knew about the illegitimate Dragomir. Eric himself had trusted her with the secrecy so she could look after his unknown child from a far distance were anything to happen to him. That was his mistake. Daniella had been plotting for a long time a way to make her husband King and after Lissa became Princess, she saw all of her plans go down the hill as my best friend gained popularity among the people and the Council. The only thing keeping Lissa from the throne was the same thing that wouldn't allow her to be part of the Council – the quorum. When Tatiana discovered about the other Dragomir, Daniella was doomed. She had to destroy the only other person who knew.

She never liked me. She never approved of my relationship with her son. But she knew that by keeping an eye on me she would be aware of the Dragomir's situation, so she was nice and kept me close, all the while planning to blame me for the Queen's murder. Why? My impulsiveness and public dislike for Tatiana might have been handy, but in reality, Daniella knew I was possibly the only one to help find the last Dragomir and make Lissa Queen. I had to die. So she stole my stake, compulsed the Queen's guardians, killed the woman and put the blame on me.

Pavel unraveled the mystery by tracking the stolen Eric Dragomir file, which contained his letters to Emily Mastrano. The file was found among Tatiana's belongings, indicating that she had been, not surprisingly, the one to steal it. She must have been suspecting something near her end.

When my parents discovered that, I guess they freaked pretty much like I did. Then Abe stormed across seas to get to America and strangle Daniella himself. She was convicted, but never sentenced to death, Royal bitch she was. I felt betrayed, humiliated and immensely stupid for never doubting her niceness. I also got a strong wave of emotion from Lissa when the truth was revealed, but I didn't let myself be pulled into her head. I never knew what the news did to Adrian.

Lissa never became Queen, because by the time we found out about Jill a new King had been voted by the Council and, thankfully, it hadn't been Nathan Ivashkov.

I had the chance to go back to my old life. Should I simply pop up in Court and say "Guess what, folks? I'm alive!"? I didn't think so; they had built lives without me, where I simply didn't belong. I was so confused. In the middle of my personal drama, something horrible happened, something no one was expecting. Abe got a call one morning that would change my life.

I could see he was struggling to keep a straight face as he gave us the news:

"Tad is dead."

It was a Strigoi attack. Tad had been travelling to attend some business for my dad and had dismissed me and taken another guardian with him. I wasn't his personal guardian, but Abe used to send me to these meetings with him all the time. I remembered Dimitri's Ivan and that only helped to worsen my pain. Tad was a close friend, not as close as Lissa, but still a good friend. Losing him was like going through Mason all over again. But worse yet... Abe said Tad was dead, but we never really found the body. I didn't want to think about the other option. I was consumed by guilt and pain until I remembered her. Emel. Everyone was devastated, but I was the first to think about what would be of the little kid. She was only months old. We had the option of sending her to an academy, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I owed Tad this much.

So I stayed.

Ever so slowly, things started to work and a sense of peace, so strange to me until then, became to feel familiar. Or as much peace as we could get, considering my mom and I were a mobster's guardians (believe me, a lot of people wanted him dead) and I had a small child under my care.

Four years after everything had started with that death sentence, I wasn't so sure I was the same person. Emel, my little princess, was a copy of her mother with long locks of dark brown her, but with the same chocolate eyes that were her father's. The unique mix of her parents' traits had made her a mini version of me.

"Ro", she said, still yawning in the early morning. "When will I get a daddy?"

I just looked at her. We were so not having this conversation again.

"I told you so, kiddo, you have a daddy. Only he's in Heaven."

"But he's in Heaven with my first mommy."

"Yes, you're right. They are looking out for you."

"You're my second mommy."

She called me "mom" or "mommy" sometimes and that used to make me feel guilty. She had no memories of her real parents. But dad had convinced me she didn't have to forget her mother and father, even if they only lived in her imagination, in order to love me.

I waited to see where she was trying to get. She had a scheming mind.

"I want a second daddy!" she pleaded with tearful eyes.

"Oh, if it isn't your own reasoning coming to bite you in the ass", said a mocking voice from the open door of the refrigerator.

"Shut it, C. Emel and I do not need any other man in our lives. You alone already gives me enough of a headache."

"And that's why you're sexually frustrated", he said, coming to the kitchen table with an orange juice jar.

I glared at him, while covering my kid's ears with my hands.

"Don't talk like that in front of her!"

I had discovered my brother was a suitable substitute for Christian when it came to snarky comments. Our usual banters lightened the house, that's what my mom said – sarcastically – all the time. Myself, I wish I could punch him in the face every morning. Speaking of Janine, it had been awkward when we started living together, but now I was kind of used to it and our domestic routine.

As if to prove my mental point, she walked into the kitchen with my dad and looked disapprovingly at my plate.

"You can't eat like that, Rose." I was having chocolate glazed donuts, pancakes with syrup and a couple of scrambled eggs. Well, I was hungry this morning. "See what an example you're giving your daughter."

It was moments like this I inwardly thought she had nothing to do with the way I raised my girl. Because she hadn't been there for me. She noticed my sour look and instantly got the message, quickly looking away. I sighed, that was not what I wanted.

"Sorry, mom" I mumbled. Ever since my ultimate death experience I had been trying to act nicer.

She smiled a little at me and resumed her preparations for a sandwich.

The door burst open and one of my very favorite people walked in with a big grin on his face.

"Uncle Mikhail!" Emel shouted, jumping out of my arms to get to him.

He took her in a big hug, embracing her tightly to his chest.

"Mikhail, I didn't know you were in town." I went to give him my own hug, squeezing Emel between our bodies and making her giggle uncontrollably.

"Just arrived this morning" he told me with a smile.

"Isn't it a beautiful family", Abe said jokingly.

Mom smacked his shoulder in a playful way, while Cahil chuckled. I gave my back to Mikhail and my girl in his arms to glare at my inconvenient family.

"You know, Baba's right. You guys kinda match. Wouldn't hurt to give it a try, would it?"

So much for having a big brother. I threw a donut at him, plastering his face with grease.

"Asshole!" I yelled.

Everyone's faces froze for a second, then all of them burst out laughing. I immediately remembered Emel was in the room with us and just wanted to slap myself for that slip. I turned to her with a livid face, not sure what to do. Of course, she did.

"Ro, is an asshole what I think it is?"

I stared back at her, my eyes widening.

"The excretory opening at the end of the alimentary canal?" she complemented to enlighten my sudden moron brains.

The room exploded with laughter, except for me. I didn't know what to say. I swear to you, I had no idea where she took those things from. Sometimes she was so unlike a four-year-old.

"So the great Rosemary Hathaway is rendered speechless", Mikhail stated, but there was something off about the way he said it. He wasn't looking me in the eye and just seemed uncomfortable.

I eyed him suspiciously, but before I could say anything my dad had recovered from his fit of laughing and was talking to me again.

"I trust you remember the opening tonight, kiz?"

I sure did. Not. So I innocently raised my eyebrows and waited for him to elaborate.

He gave an exasperate sigh, because he obviously knew I wouldn't remember, though it still amused him, and started to elucidate me.

"The art gallery? We promised Alev we would go, her paintings will be on display."

Riight. I guess I remembered now, Alev had mentioned it a few times last month. Or a thousand times, that's more like it.

Alev was the daughter of one of dad's childhood friends. They had gone to the same academy (my father at an academy harassing other kids was a recurrent thought in my mind) and never lost contact. I wondered whether it was because Kamer was a mobster as well. Anyway, the guy had moved to Russia, where he got married and had this daughter, Alev. She was a year younger than me and had completely glued to my side from the very first time we met. I sort of liked her when she wasn't exaggeratedly annoying. She was a painter and would be putting her work on display for the first time tonight.

"Of course we'll go, Baba. Oh, and since you're here, you could come along." I turned to Mikhail and thought it would be polite to invite him.

He looked a little hesitant before answering me.

"With you?"

"Yeah, with us."

His face fell in an almost unperceptive way, but I saw it. It was only then it occurred to me that by "you" he might be meaning only me.

However, he agreed to go with us and turned to leave, pecking Emel's cheek, then mine, and promising to be back by eight.

I turned to my family only to find three pairs of knowing eyes.

"What?" I asked slightly irritated.

The things they were implying weren't light and I didn't want to even start thinking of it. Mikhail? He was a friend, that's all. I never considered he could have any other sort of feelings towards me but a fraternal one. I mean... He sure cared about me. He'd been helping me since my time in jail. But he was older and, I don't know, remind me so much of myself when it came to heartbreak experiences. He was probably the only other person who could understand what I had been through with losing the love of my live, though he didn't get the whole rejection drama. Besides, I had it rooted in my being that Mikhail and Sonya Karp were meant to be, even if she was now lost to the Strigoi. It helped me keep whatever love delusion I had left. Mikhail and I? It was insane.

But even if it wasn't, I wasn't sure I was ever going to want a relationship again, because the only one that I wanted was with another woman and his love for me had faded.

Oh, hell, wasn't I a screwed up person.

What did you think of the murderer? And what about Emel? Anyone liked her?