Jill had taken to moving around the Academy as early as possible to avoid the endless stares and whispers. It was an old nuisance now, but it had definitely taken the excitement away from starting at the secondary campus. Instead of hanging and giggling with her friends as they progressed towards the older, cooler stages of teenager, she was trapped in a never ending who's who of Royals and suck-ups. She couldn't take one step in a hallway without someone calling after her.

She also couldn't take one step in any direction without a guardian following her, which was unnerving when she considered the fact she was in school and not in any immediate danger, at least on the surface of matters. If guardians followed her, then someone was worried about her safety and it wasn't an obvious threat.

Jill shivered into her winter coat. It was Fall, but the wind had picked up a bitter edge to it and all students had taken to wearing their winter wardrobe out. Just another thing that Jill failed out. Fashion. Her coat was old, battered and well worn. Her mother had picked it out for her, and she loved it. Yet whenever she shrugged it off in class, judgemental stares would fall on her.

Feeling completely miserable, Jill didn't immediately notice the threat hovering behind her. She wasn't so internalised that she didn't hear the twig crack.

She dove to the floor, scattering fallen leaves into the crisp air as she rolled onto her back, eyes searching for the source of the noise. Focusing with all her might, Jill drew all the water in the air towards her, binding it into a solid sphere. She toyed with it in her hands, shrieking as a hand clamped over her mouth. Her control slipped and the water dropped to the floor.

"I told you to be quiet Franko," an irritated man whispered furiously above her ear. Jill squirmed, desperately trying to remember what Eddie had taught her. She knew magic was out. She need to be calm to cast effectively. The men talking behind her weren't helping either, she panicked more as he heard one mutter, "get the bag."

She was slim, so attackers would always outsize her and Moroi weren't particularly built for fighting. They were fast and light though, but to run or dodge, Jill had to be out of this bind. She wiggled a little, freeing her elbow, before driving it down into her assailant's groin. He groaned and instantly let go, and Jill weaved between the two other men who had looked up at their friend's cry. They stared at her in surprise as tried to race back to the main campus.

A whoosing sound made Jill turn around in time to see a weighted rope tangle around her legs. Desperately Jill lashed out magically, once again feeling the euphoria and thrill of connecting to her element as she created her own lasso out of water. It dangled in front of her precariously for a moment, before snaking towards the men trying to capture her. They paused in shock, evaluating the turn of events. That gave Jill time to disentangle herself and see her pursuers probably for the first time.

They were dhampirs.

Not just dhampirs. At least one of them was a school guardian. Jill recognised him instantly as being one of the dhampirs ordered to track her every move. She had believed that she had been giving them the slip, moving freely to her secret training sessions with Christian and Eddie without being seen, but here they were now. And it wasn't as if that guardian was here to put a stop to her activities. He was trying to hurt her, silence her and stash her somewhere. What was going on?

"Ignore the water-snake and grab the Dragomir before she gets to the school," the guardian hissed at his companions. "It's just magic. How can water hurt you?"

Big mistake. Quiet Jill. Shy Jill. Frightened Jill. She disappeared in a flash of fury. The harmless water-snake rose higher in the sky, matching her temperamental emotions. It turned into a fist and slammed into the nearest dhampir, knocking him flying into the trees. The guardian and remaining dhampir stared at the furious Moroi in horror.

"Get away from me," she screamed, and the water broke apart once more as her control slipped. The water crashed down heavily around them all, drenching them. "Stay away from me. Stay away. Stay away," Jill broke too, her voice tapering off as sobs came over.

"Jill!"

Hands wrapped around her shaking frame, and Jill didn't fight it. This wasn't dhampirs trying to take her away. This was Christian. She watched as Eddie gave chase to the dhampirs through watery eyes, shivering violently from the cold.

"This is just the beginning, isn't it?" she whispered in a scared voice. "There will be more people coming to take me away."

"Hush," Christian murmured back gently. "You don't need to worry about that."