Don't own anything. RM does.

This trip is going to be fun.

And it was.

I tried to keep reminding myself that we were here because of a tragedy, that there was a war outside, a war that brought together Strigoi and humans, both equally filled with darkness and anger. What was pissing me off the most was the fact that okay; evilness was in Strigoi's nature, it was something they couldn't shut out. But humans were supposed to be on the side of good, right?

That was when I realized that we could all be scared of beasts, but sometimes there's not a dark as black in beasts as it is in humans. And that scared the shit out of me.

Good thing no one else seemed to remember that, though, and I admit, even I was having a difficult time myself when we landed.

The resort was gorgeous. It was built to sort of look like a log cabin, but no pioneer cabin could have held hundreds of people or had such luxury accommodations. Three stories of gleaming, golden-colored wood sat among lofty pine trees. The windows were tall and gracefully arched, tinted for Moroi convenience. Crystal lanterns - electric, but shaped to look like torches - hung around all the entrances, giving the entire building a glittering, almost bejeweled look.

I was barely aware the mountains that were surrounding us. With glistening white caps, like a perfect Disney picture, they were rising from the ground like slumbering giants beneath thick blankets of white. I couldn't wait to see them bathed in the morning light.

Inside, all sorts of arrangements had been made to cater to Moroi needs. Feeders stayed on hand; ready to serve twenty-four hours a day. The slopes ran on a nocturnal schedule. Wards and guardians circled the entire place. Everything a living vampire could want.

The main lobby had a cathedral ceiling and an enormous chandelier hanging over it. Its floor was intricately tiled marble, and the front desk stayed open around the clock, ready to indulge our every need. The rest of the lodge, hallways and lounges, had a red, black, and gold color scheme.

The room I shared with Lissa was bigger than our dorm rooms put together and had the rich blue and golden colors.

Immediately as we walked inside, I throw away my bag and rushed towards the big French doors. They opened on to a spacious balcony, which, considering we were on the top floor would have been cool if not for the fact it was freezing outside. I suspected the two-person hot tub on the far end would go a long way to make up for the cold.

I promised myself to completely take advantage of all this luxury by the end of the trip.

Eddie and Mason came to our doors few hours later, followed by Adrian. After an hour of persuading and, well, blackmailing of sorts, we managed to convince Moroi that the skiing challenge is exactly what we need. So, when Lissa went to fetch her boyfriend and me and guys were left in our apartment, the interrogation has begun.

"Tell me, Little Dhampir," Adrian said while sitting on a fluffy and soft carpet that covered the marble floor. "Where were we yesterday?"

"I believe we stopped discussing that insane spell when Rose promised me we'll run away together." Mason smirked.

I threw away my pillow on him. "I didn't say well run away! I've simply said if I ever get a chance to travel, I'll take you with me."

He pouted but didn't contradict me. I believe he realized that's the best he'll get.

"What else did you hear?" Adrian was back on business.

"I don't even know anymore." I whined. "Something about hesitation, about giving up, about…"

"About helping a girlfriend wins her ex-boyfriend." Eddie finished.

"Oh, yeah, sounds like fun." Adrian mumbled.

"Well, boys, don't wanna be a party-breaker, but, honestly, I don't see a need for this discussion anymore. What's meant to be - will be. I'll just," I said standing up and smiling, "go with the flow, you know."

And I meant what I said. We obviously weren't getting anywhere with this. We could discuss it as much as we want, but there were things I couldn't say to them, Dimitri being one of them. And I had a crazy feeling that most of the lines I heard yesterday were somewhat connected to him. I'm just going to have to figure it out by myself.

Later.

Our group entered the lobby hours. My cheeks were hurting from all that smiling I had today. It felt weird but I realized that I'm still a seventeen year old girl and that I kind of still belong with this people. I managed to avoid Christian as much as I could, which wasn't so suspicious because we didn't actually show any affection towards each other even on a regular basis.

We were in search of food. The dining room was just shutting down dinner, but one of the waitresses let us in. There were a few couples sitting around the dark tables. One of them being Dimitri and Tasha. When she saw us, her face lit up and she waved for us to join them. I smiled to. Dimitri just looked impassive, like always.

"Seems like you had a good time." Tasha commented as we sat next to them.

"Best." Mason mumbled already filling his mouth with food.

"So, I have to inform you, Lissa," Tasha pointed her fork towards my best friend, "you've been invited to luncheon being hosted by the Contas tomorrow."

"Really?" I could feel Lissa's excitement. She could pretend as much as she wants, but I knew that she enjoyed getting ready and mingling with royal snobs in her pretty dresses. She was the last of Dragomirs, and the only one who could restore the family name.

"Yes, really." Tasha chuckled. "And the invitation said you get to bring a guest."

Lissa turned towards Christian who already had a broken look in his eyes. Seeing him look so pained made me smile.

"Liss…"

"You're coming."

"Can I at least, I don't know, check my schedule first?"

I laughed. "Chris, honey, we all know you don't have any obligations or agreements." I said.

He looked at me coolly.

We continued to have dinner after that, Cristian occasionally complaining about tomorrow, Lissa chatting happily with Tasha, and Adrian constantly making moves on me, causing Mason to tighten his grip on the fork from time to time. Dimitri looked alert as always and I couldn't really blame him.

I was returning to our room with Lissa when he stopped us.

"Rose," he said. "Can I talk to you?"

I felt a sympathetic rush of feeling from Lissa. I turned toward Dimitri and stepped off to the side of the room, out of the way of those passing through.

"How are you feeling?"

"Can't complain, Comrade."

"Rose…" He looked at me. Really looked, and I again believed he was the only one who could actually see me.

"No, really, I'm fine. Shaken a bit, but mostly fine."

"Okay. Listen, I was with your mother earlier. We were looking over some new data about the Strigoi in the Drozdov attack."

The Drozdovs. The Badicas. Suddenly, everything that had happened rushed back to me. Anger I felt towards Strigoi, towards humans. And fear.

"What'd you find out?" I asked quietly.

"One of the witnesses did catch one plate number. It's registered to an address in Spokane."

"Spokane?" I asked incredulously. "Spokane, Washington?"

"Exactly."

"Why are you telling me this? I mean, I'm not complaining but I didn't think novices are supposed to be informed about this."

He silently sighed. "Well, you were never an ordinary novice. And I believed you'd want to know this. I know you'll regard this information carefully."

"I will." I promised. I felt so proud of myself in that moment. Dimitri trusted me. And that was all I ever wanted from him.

He returned to the bar later to talk with Tasha and I started walking towards my room once again when Lissa's angry feelings pulled me into her head.

"What do you mean, you don't want to? I believe we agreed about this over the dinner!" She raised her voice. Christian was leaning on the terrace doors in our room, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I am not comfortable around those people, Liss. Take Rose or somebody instead."

Lissa mimicked his position, leaning on the bed frame and crossing her pale arms. "Rose is not comfortable around them either."

He narrowed his eyes. "And still, I don't see you trying to make her to swallow her pride and keep you company, do I?"

"You are my boyfriend!"

"And she's your best friend."

"Are we really going to continue to fight about my relationships with you two?"

He shrugged. "We're not fighting. Believe me; you would know if we did."

"Look, Christian," she tried to calm down a bit and walked to where he was standing. "You, both of you, you are different kind of people than us." She meant to say that like some sort of compliment but it made me slightly angry. By the look Christian wore, it had the same effect on him.

"Then why the hell are you still keeping us around?"

"I…" and she didn't answer. She was taken aback. And I felt that she was just trying to find the right words but Christian didn't.

"Listen, Lissa, I'll be," he made a face while gently pushing her so he could reach the door. "Moping in my room. When you realize what you feel and what you want, you know where you can find me."

I forced myself out of my friend's mind.

I suddenly became even angrier than before. I felt like only one thing was keeping me from completely dashing and falling over the edge. I made a sharp turn before I even reach our hall and went straight to Christian's.

Few moments later, I was trying to beat the crap out of his doors. And I wasn't even sure what I was angry about.

I pushed him and stormed inside.

"What have you done?" I screeched. "You stupid torch, you know she loves you! And now she's all sad and depressed and confused and angry and…" I was waving my hands around, looking like I was trying to fly.

"I doubt that she loves me." He wore a small, sad smile on his face.

"Are you frickin' blind?"

"If she loved me, she would accept me as I am. Not try and turn me into something I despise."

I slumped on his bed, suddenly feeling tired. I expected him to be sarcastic and to answer to my yelling with some more yelling. But the sad vibe he was sending was tiring.

"Look, she's not trying to turn you into anything. It's just a stupid dinner. Nothing over the top."

He slowly sat beside me. We were now both looking at the fire that was burning noisily in the fireplace across the bed. "This time it's just dinner. Soon, it will be dinners, and balls, and meetings. And I'll not be able to stand all that. So, no, I couldn't give up to her. No, simply as that, I won't go with her tomorrow. No, I told her no."

I quickly looked at him.

No, I told her no.

I was wrong. Dimitri will not tell no to Tasha. Not after I told him I'm okay with her offer.

But some small part of me believed that maybe there was some kind of hope. We could change destiny. Maybe not completely. but maybe we could partially destroy it.

Chills ran through my veins.

Christian continued as nothing happened.

"For the first time, Rose, I told her no. I believed I could be there for her, all the time. But I'm not that strong. I'm too young for this shit."

I was only half listening to him. I had a feeling I was supposed to say something encouraging and try to make him go apologize to Lissa, but I couldn't think of anything to say. I needed to thing about everything, and I needed to relax a bit. So I stood up, and gently squeezed his shoulder.

"If you need anything…" I mumbled and left his room as quickly as possible, without looking back at him.