Chapter 9

RPOV

It was the morning after all the chaos had broken loose. I stretched in bed before getting up. I noticed Dimitri wasn't in the room and then I glanced at the clock. It was already eleven pm. I had really over slept. Oh well, not like I don't have an excuse.

I got up and went to the bathroom. Started the water in the shower and brushed my hair. I took off my clothes and got in the shower. I was standing under the running water thinking of last nights events.

What the hell had happened? I couldn't believe Dimitri had gone off like he did. He actually got into a fight and this was with someone I thought we we're both friends with. Granted that yeah he had been disrespectful and said things he shouldn't but that all it was words. He never took any action in anything he said.

What was the difference in what he said and what Adrian used to say? Well I guess that was a stupid thought because Adrian's feelings had changed over time. He got used to the fact of Dimitri and I being together. And we had tried briefly but I guess you could say our relationship was more of a friendship. Don't get me wrong he was tall, fit, handsome, and had a great personality. Just not the personality that fit me and I soon learned that I couldn't love anyone more than I loved Dimitri.

Thinking back on last night, I remember Mikhail walking in on us in the hall way. Dimitri and I were getting really steamy and the look in Mikhail's eyes, well that just wasn't right. I couldn't help wonder though; How did Dimitri find out what Mikhail had said in the past? I never told him. He wasn't here the first time and we had just got back together on the second time. Mikhail had seemed to understand then. Why now?

I got out of the shower and decided that I was not going to think or talk about this at all today. I didn't need the stress and if two grown men couldn't fix there problems on their own then they sure as shit couldn't handle it with help.

I got dressed in a white sundress with a light blue pattern on it and decided to leave my hair down to dry in waves and stayed bare foot. I didn't plan to go anywhere today anyways.

I walked down stairs and noticed the TV was on in the living room and no one was in there so I turned it off. Then I went to the kitchen and got a glass of milk and slice of toast covered in peanut butter. I had a serious craving for the stuff lately.

I grabbed my plate and went to the dinning room. I stopped in the door way after I noticed Lissa, Dimitri, Mikhail, Eddie, and my to my shock my parents sitting at the table having what seemed to be a serious talk. I turned to leave but not before being stopped.

"Not so fast little miss." My dad said. "I think you should join us."

I sighed and turned around. I gave a half smile to him. "If this is about last night, I don't want to talk about it Old Man." I stated.

He gave me a half smile back of his own. We really were so much alike. "Just come sit Kiz." He pulled out the chair beside him. I ignored the looks from everyone else and took a seat beside him. I wasn't mad anymore I just really wanted to stay out of it. I caused enough of this as it was I felt like.

"Are you okay?" My dad whispered in my ear are I sat down beside him. I just nodded my head to him and took a bit of my toast.

"Geeze Rose, Would you like some bread with that peanut butter?" Lissa asked.

I appreciated the joke to break up the awkward silence. "Nope, but I think I should have brought the jar and a spoon with me." I replied giving her a classic Rose Hathaway sarcastic tone.

That got a laugh from everyone. I noticed Dimitri looked over at me with a smile on his face. I couldn't help but smile back but I was wondering why he looked so happy.

"What are you smiling at?" I asked him.

"You're beautiful Rose." He said shaking his head with that smile on his face.

"Thanks." I told him. "What's going on here anyways? Where's Adrian at Eddie?"

"He's with Christian." Was all he said.

"I heard about last night nearly first this morning. So I came over here to find out what it was all about and to make sure no one." He paused and looked between Dimitri and Mikhail with eyes that could cut like knife. "upsets my daughter."

I smiled at him. "I'm fine dad. Really, I am." I told him. "Plus if two grown men want to act like children maybe they should be treated like it too." It was my turn to glare at them. So I did while I said. "It is sad that 'two grown men' can act they way you two did and now you have other people here fixing your problems. I think it would be a waist of my time to actually sit around and listen to it."

The look everyone gave was utter shock. I held up my hand before anyone could interrupt me. "I don't want to hear it. You two need to learn to fix your problems and be professional. I don't want to hear any more excuses. I think you should both be ashamed. Your grown ** men. Start acting like it." I finished.

My father put a hand on my shoulder. "Calm down kiz." He soothed. Then cast a glance to Dimitri and Mikhail again. "She's right; you two have been acting like Children."

I blinked back the unshed tears and finished eating. I needed something to distract me from this so I gave my dad a kiss on the cheek, grabbed my plate and went to the kitchen. I ignored them as they all talked and did the dishes in the sink. I finished those and decided to clean the whole kitchen. I whipped down the counters then the island, cleaned out the fridge, put away the dishes from the dry rack and the dish washer, swept and moped. When I finished I decided I would clean the living room.

I dust the tables, shelves, and the knick knacks on them, straightened the cushions and pillows, fold the throw blanket that was on the couch, stacked and put the magazines in the wrack and put the remotes and coasters back on the coffee table, and then vacuumed the floor.

I have no clue what had gotten into me but it was like I turned into Mary Poppins in seconds. I don't know if I just felt like I wanted to clean all of a sudden, if I was bored, or if I was using it as an excuse to avoid talking about last night, probably all three.

I dust and vacuumed both sitting rooms. I decided when everyone was still sitting in the dinning room I would just go upstairs and clean my bed room. I vacuumed, dust, and put all the dirty clothes in three different hampers, one for dark, colors, and whites. I took the sheets off the bed and into the basket of whites. I pulled my hair up into a pony tail and then went to the bathroom and cleaned the counter, toilet, shower, bath, and floor.

When I was finally finished doing all of this I decided to do laundry. I was half way down the stairs caring two baskets of clothes, the whites and colors, stacked on top of each other. I couldn't see in front of me, So when I bumped into someone I almost went down the stairs with all the stuff I was caring until strong hands grabbed me by the upper arm and saved me from what would have been a bad fall.

"I am so sorry." I said. "I couldn't see where I was going." I looked up to see Mikhail.

He had a look of concern on his face; well what I thought looked like concern. "Don't be sorry to me. You shouldn't be caring this stuff around like this. You could have seriously got hurt. Are you alright?" He said.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks for catching me." He dropped my arm and I bent down to pick up all the clothes and separate them again. He bent down to help.

"I was actually come up to find you." He told me finally looking at me. "I wanted to apologize to you, about last night."

For a moment I was caught off guard. "I appreciate that Mikhail, but honestly I think you should be apologizing to Dimitri." I said.

He shook his head. "Dimitri and I talked already. Don't worry about that, small misunderstanding. I do have to apologize to you though. I am sorry for the way I looked at you and the way I said things. I don't know what came over me. I shouldn't have done it. I took advantage of my friendship to you, again." He said and looked down.

"Mikhail, thank you. It means a lot to me that you came to find me and apologize." I gave him a half smile and picked up the last of the clothing.

"I hope we can all move on from this and things can go back the way they were." He told me.

"I agree. Can you please do me a favor and take on of these baskets down for me?" I asked him. He nods his head and we walked to the laundry room in peace. "Thanks." I told him and he left the room.

Since we lived In a house with so many people our laundry room was pretty huge. We have two sets of washers and dryers. It seemed someone was always doing laundry around here. Right now both of them we're empty so I loaded them up, putting tide in both washers, downy in both softener dispensers, and bleach in the one with whites. I stacked the two baskets together and cleaned out the lent trays of the dryer. I then decided to take out the trash, replace the bag, clean the windows, and the washer and dryer.

"I really am going nuts." I said to myself. I now cleaned every room down stairs except the dinning room. I left the laundry room and decided to sneak a peak in the dinning room. No one was in there. So I did a fast cleaning and dusting. When I was done I went back upstairs and grabbed the other basket and took it to the laundry room. I only had fives minutes left on the washers, so I grabbed a basket and went up stairs to our room once again.

I was taking the duvet cover off the down comforter when Dimitri walked in the open door way. I was having trouble and I guess he could tell because he came to my side immediately to help.

"Please tell you're not the reason the house looks so great right now." He said.

I smiled at him. "Yeah; why? I have nothing else to do." I stated.

He shook his head. "You're supposed to be taking it easy Roza, not running yourself tired." He told me.

"I'm not tired. I slept pretty late if you don't remember." I said with a sting of acid to my voice. He cut me a look but I didn't say anything. I hated the fact of what happened last night and that I refused to talk about it. Then I woke up alone this morning.

I went to my closet and switch out of my dress into a pair of jean shorts and a tee shirt. I slid on some flip flops and grabbed the basket. I went down to the laundry room and changed the loads over to the dryer and then started the last on in the wash. I turned around to pick up the other basket and head for the front door. I grabbed a pair of car keys of the key hook. When we got to court my dad had surprised me with a present. He said since I would need a car that I was living at court and would be going to school and having kids. So I gladly took him up on his offer, plus it made him happy to give me gifts. He bought me a 2011 Audi Q5. It was Ibis white with black interior. I fell in love with it the instant I saw it.

Dimitri grabbed the keys out of my hand. "Where do you think your going?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Dry cleaners, Where else would I go?" I said point at the basket. "It's dry clean only." I told him hoping that explained everything.

He smiled at me. "Fine, but not alone." I held out my hand and he looked at me funny.

"Sorry bud, but no one drives my car but me." I said and he gave them back.

We got in the car and I realized I didn't have my purse. "Shoot." I went to read for the door hand and get out but he stopped me.

"What?" He asked.

"I left my purse."

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I have my wallet." He said.

"Are you sure? I can go get my purse real fast." He took my hand in his.

"Rose, look I'm sorry about last night." He said and I nod my head to him.

"It's okay Comrade, but you don't have to pay for the dry cleaning just because of last night." I said smiling at him.

He rolled his eyes. "Roza, I'm not paying it because of last night. It shouldn't matter who's paying for it when one day, hopefully next year we will be married. I want to do it because that's how it should be. I should be taken care of you, of us, our kids." He said.

I smiled at him. "Thank you." I kissed him. The kiss got deeper. Dimitri broke apart but not willingly. We leaned our heads against one another.

"How about we drop this off, get lunch, and come home?" He said. I nod and agreed with him.

We dropped off the duvet and went to a small café at court. I ordered Chicken salad on a croissant with grape halves and vitamin water. Dimitri got a southwestern chicken sandwich with a pickle and water. Just thinking of the taste of pickles made my stomach turn. I used to love them but now I doubt I would ever eat one again.

"How is it?" I asked curiously.

"Good. Want to try?" He asked.

I thought it over for a minute. "Is I spicy?"

"No, I think you'll like it. Here try." He cut a piece off and stuck it with my fork. I took it from him and examined it.

"What are you doing?" He had a smile on his face.

"I was just wondering what kind of sauce it was." I said before taking a bite.

"Wow, that's good. I should have ordered that."

"What do you want to do today?" He asked me after a few minutes.

"I don't know. I need to finish our laundry." Then I got an idea. "Actually there is something I want to do."

"What's that?"

"Would you want to take a drive some where?" I asked.

"Is it leaving court?"

I shook my head. "Nope, but I also don't wont anyone else to know, not yet at least."

He eyed me suspiciously. "Okay. Let me pay and we will be out of here."

"Can I use your phone for a second why you do that?" I asked. He nods his head and hand it to me.

He went up to the cashier paid for our lunch and got two to more drinks to go. I flipped open the phone and dialed Christians number. I told him what I needed and that I didn't want Lissa to know just yet. So he was going to have Eddie bring it to me without her knowing. He asked why but I told him I would talk to him later about it if I decide to go through with it. When he came back I gave him the phone and we got in the car to head off in the opposite direction of court. We're all the royals lived.

Alberta's POV

I woke up that morning thinking of everything that had happened the night before. Langston had kissed me and today was the day of our first date. I was so nervous; I haven't been on a date in years. I got up and got in the shower. When I got out I was looking threw my closest and I had no clue what I was going to wear. I didn't have a clue where we were going to eat so that didn't help but I figured since it was our 'first date' it has to be nice. I slid on a pair of yoga pants and a T back tank then left my room to find Lissa and Rose.

I found Lissa down stairs in the back yard by the pool with Christian, Adrian, Mikhail, and Langston. The guys were having a water gun/balloon fight and swimming. I so didn't want to get wet so I went no where near them.

"Lissa" I yelled so she could hear me over the screaming guys. Right then a water balloon landed on her and she screamed

"Ugh, who threw that?" She looked at Christian and he had a guilty smile on his face. She gave him a look with narrowed eyes. "You just wait till later."

She got up and dried off with his towel then came over to me. "What's up?" She asked.

"Let's go inside. I don't want to get wet."

We went inside and I headed up stairs. "I have no clue what to wear." I said.

She smiled. "Lets go threw your closet." She said. "Where is Rose?"

"I have no clue; I just got up not too long ago." I told her.

"I'll call her. She should be back by now. She and Dimitri only went to the dry cleaners." We walked up the stairs as Lissa called Rose.

"Hey Rose. Where are you?" She asked. I couldn't hear their conversation but then again I wasn't interested really.

"Okay, well hurry up. I'm helping Alberta get ready and I could use your help." She told her. "Kay. Bye." She hung up her phone.

"She's almost here." We got to my room and shut the door. Lissa went straight to my closet and started going through things.

"You should have woke up sooner. We could have gone shopping." She said with a smile.

"I didn't mean to sleep so late. I stayed up to cover last nights shift and then Langston decided to because I was tired and he couldn't sleep." I told her.

Her eyes went wide. "You and Langston were up last night by yourselves, and everyone was asleep?" She asked. I should have that that over before I said anything. Darn it. Her and Rose were going to nag me now and I haven't been on the date yet, I know I'll get it then.

I nodded to her. "Yeah, we had some coffee and watched a little TV." I told her.

She looked at me for a second and then went on. "What else happened?" She asked. "I can tell there's something you're not saying by your aura."

I bit my lip. How would it sound if I told her about the kiss and we hadn't even been on a date yet? "He kissed me." I blurted as there was a knock at the door.

Lissa rolled her eyes, annoyed at the interruption of our chat. "Who is it?" I asked.

"Rose."

"Come in." She walked in and shut the door.

"Did I just hear something about a kiss?" She asked walking over to sit on the couch beside me.

I blushed. "Were you eavesdropping?"

She shook her head. "No, I just heard y'all talking plus caught a glimpse from the bond." She smiled.

"So keep going, I want to hear about this kiss." Lissa said.

So I jumped into small details about how I made coffee last night and Langston kissed me.

"Sounds like someone had fun." Rose said giving me some weird eye brow dance. Lissa and I just laughed at her.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"Nothing" Lissa and I said together and laughed harder. There was a knock at the door and Rose got up to answer it, throwing a throw pillow at us as she did.

She opened the door to a smiling Langston. I stopped laughing instantly and I felt my cheeks burn as my smile got bigger.

"Is there something I can do for you?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Nope, I just heard all the laughing and wanted to make sure y'all were all okay and able to breathe still."

"Oh, yeah every things fine but if you ever want a really good laugh ask Rose to do her eye brow dance." I said but only to get another throw pillow thrown at me.

"What? She's right you know. That was the funniest facial expression I have seen in a while." Lissa said.

"With a face like yours, I wish I was blind." Rose said with her classic sarcastic attitude and we all laughed.

"Oh you want to start on jokes huh?" Lissa said.

Crap, I will never get ready at this point. "Anyways, I'm trying to get ready." I told Langston.

He nodded. "Alright, then I will see you in a few hours." He said and left with a smile on his face.

"Okay, seriously I need to find something to wear." I said.

"I have something." Rose said standing up and going to the door. Lissa and I fallowed.

We went to her room ands he shut and locked the door. "Take a seat and make yourselves

It will take me a second to find it." She said and went in her closet. About ten minutes

She came out holding a white dress.

I looked at Rose and then at Lissa. "You have got to be kidding me." I said.

"Nope, Come on you'll look hot in it. Plus I will never be able to wear that again

Or anything like it." She said holding it out to me. "Try it on, before you make up your

mind." She said.

I went to the bathroom and switch from my lounge wear to the dress. I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked hot. I felt a little self conscious at first but that was soon gone when I turned and examined myself. The dress showed off my curse great. It didn't leave much for imagination. I stepped out the bathroom. Lissa gasped and Rose had a huge smile on her face.

"You look hot. Now to only do some light make up and gloss and some curls. What size shoe are you?" She asked.

"Seven and half to a eight." I told her.

"Same as me, great, I have the perfect shoes for the dress and necklace." She walked back to her closet and muttered to herself "I feel like I have a life size doll to play with, we need to do this more often." I laughed.

"Let's see how the first date goes." I said. Lissa got up to go to the rest room and pulled the curling iron out from a drawer and plugged it in.

"I'm so excited for you." Lissa sang pulling out bags and other things.

"I'm nervous. I haven't been on a date in I don't know how long." I said as rose came out the closet caring a few things.

"Dear god, I'm worried about a date and now you want me to worry about my ankles too. I'll never be able to walk in those." I said casting a look to the shoes.

"Good thing we have hours then because your going to practice. That dress does not go with flat shoes." I rolled my eyes great.

It was about 3 hours later when I finally finished and actually got the hang of walking in heels again. My hair was done, shoes on, nails freshly painted, lips glossed, and clutch in hand. I didn't have one to match my attire so I barrow one of Lissa's. I put a stake into it just in case.

I was looking in the mirror to make sure I didn't miss anything when Rose walked up behind me.

"You look great, you're going to do great, and have a blast. Stop worrying before your make up runs." She told me.

"Fine, but if I break an ankle I'm so blaming you." I said smiling nervously.

"Well, I'd gladly take the blame because you are hot and you'll appreciate me later. So will Langston." She said winking at me.

I blushed. "You think so?"

"He'd be a fool not to." Lissa said. "Come on Rose let's get down stairs. We will see you in a minute Alberta."

They made sure everything was off and unplugged then left the room. I gave it about 10 minutes before I headed down stairs.

Langston POV

I was sitting in the living room with the guys waiting on Allie. I was kind of nervous but not much, I was excited about this. She was a beautiful woman and had a great personality. I really wanted to get to know her.

I decided on taking her to a really nice restraint at court. So I decided on wearing a pair of black slacks, dress shoes, and belt with a blue button down shirt. I had a thing of short steamed red roses. I really hoped she liked them. The guys and I we're talking about sneaking up on the girls with water balloons later or tomorrow, but Dimitri didn't want Rose to get caught in it and we all agreed. We would wait till Lissa's brides maids got in town so we could have more fun with it and hopefully cause and all out war.

We heard talking and saw Rose and Lissa came down the stairs. I stood up and went to the front room and waited in front of the stairs.

The girls smiled when they walked bye and stood next to Dimitri and Rose but didn't say anything. I saw rose give Dimitri a kiss and I quickly turned away. A few minutes later a door opened up stairs and Then Allie walked to the top of the stairs. She had a smile on her face and she was beautiful. She was wearing a fitted sleeveless white dress that was made to look like the material was scrunched. She had a necklace made of all different colors bright beads and matching bangles. With a pair of aqua blue peep toe pumps and matching bag.

She came down to the bottom of the stairs and was standing on the bottom step. I walked up to her and she was still shorter than me, not that I complain. "You're beautiful." I said and kissed her on the cheek and gave her the roses.

"Thank you" She said as she brought them to her face and smelled them. "Roses are my favorite." She said.

I smiled. "I'm glad I got the right ones."

I hadn't noticed when everyone left the room but apparently they were giving us our privacy. I held my hand out to her.

"Shall we?" I asked.

She smiled and took my hand. I opened the door for her and shut it after I walked out after her. We got to my car (a 2010 Mazda RX-8) I opened the door for her and shut it after she got in. I walked around the other side and got in behind the driver seat.

"This is a nice car." She stated.

I nodded. "Yes it is." I smiled at her. "Cars, it was my first love. I sold my last car before I moved to court and I saved up for a long time before I bought her last year." I said.

"Her?" She asked.

I blushed. "You probably think I'm nuts but I named her. Lelia."

"I don't think your nuts." She smiled at me. "Why Lelia?" She asked.

"It's Italian and honestly I couldn't think of one, but Lelia means joking, laughing, and talking. It was often used in Italian plays and I figured it fits my personality why not go with it." I shrugged.

"Well, I think I'll have to agree." I stopped at a red light and cast a look at her. She was beautiful. I was a lucky man to get a chance to take her out tonight. I just hope I didn't mess up.

"Do you like Japanese food?" I asked her.

"Love it." She said.

"Good because we have a reservation for two at Miyabi." I told her.

She smiled at me. "Sounds good to me."

We arrived at the steakhouse a few minutes later. I got out of the car and walked around to open the door for her. I watched as she stepped one leg out at a time then took my hand and stood up. I shut the door for her but before moving I couldn't help but tell her again. "You are very beautiful."

She looked down for a second messing with the clip on her handbag and then she stood up further on the tip toe of her heels and kissed me on the cheek. "You're handsome and very sweet."

I smiled at her. "How did I get so lucky to take you out again?" I asked teasing. I was well aware she was still holding my hand and I didn't mind. "Let's go grab our reservation." I told her.

We walked to the door and I opened it for her putting my hand on the small of her back and following in after her. We stood in line patiently for those who didn't call ahead.

"How many?" a young dhampir girl asked.

"We have a reservation for two under Judson." I told her.

She grabbed two menus and asked us to follow her. Someone else took her place. "Your waiter will be with you soon. Enjoy." She said before walking away.

We were seated at a table made for ten and there was a family at the other end and two seats left. We decided to sit at the other end away from them. I wanted some privacy but I also wanted to be appropriate since this was a family sitting with us.

"I forgot about the seating, I guess I should have thought about that for a first date." I said.

She smiled at me and picked up her menu. "I don't mind. I love the food and their all the way over there anyways. It's okay." She said.

I felt like the luckiest man a live right now. How was I able to get a woman, who wasn't picky, wasn't late, beautiful, and smart all in one.

After a few minutes of sitting a waiter came over and took our drink order. When he came back he asked if we we're ready to order. Allie got the chicken and steak with ranch on her salad. I got the steak and shrimp and also got ranch on my salad.

After we ordered I didn't know what to talk about. I wasn't the best at dating and didn't have a lot of experience at it. I had always taken my job serious and my love for cars weird for an Italian, right? I was thankful when Allie broke the silence.

"So what part of Italy are you from?" She asked.

"Lucca." I told her.

"Tell me about it. I have never been to Italy." She smiled.

"It's a town in Tuscany. It's very different from the states. Very historical and had a strong renaissance feel. Hundreds of churches and the birth place of tons of world know artist. It is a beautiful place."

"It sounds beautiful." She said and took a sip of her drink.

"What about you. Where are you from?" I asked. I didn't want to talk about me. I wanted to know more about her.

"I'm from here, well not here but the states." She paused. "I was born in Moscow, Russia but my mother moved her after I was born so my brother and I could grow up at the Academy and get our 'proper training' she liked to call it."

"You make it sound bad." I stated.

She shook her head. "No, I loved it." She gave me a half smile. Right then the cook came up and he started to clean the grill again before cooking. He banged his utensil on the cook top making loud noises.

We dropped the personal talk while he cooked and we ate. I continued through out the meal to cast looks at Allie. I noticed she would do that same to me. We clapped for the cook when he did tricks. I noticed he'd cast looks at us and smile. He was an older man. Who looked like he had years of knowledge and experience. At one point he stated to us that 'Love is in its most mature age when it is young' then he cleaned the grill and left.

I didn't know what to say to that so I just nodded to him and told him thank you. I looked at Allie and saw she was blushing.

"Love huh?" I said and smiled.

"I'm not so sure about that, I don't even know you that well." She said to me and smiled.

I smiled back. "What do you say we get out of here and get desert or something?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I honestly don't think I can eat anything else." I knew how she felt, suggesting ice cream was dumb on my part both of us had to go boxes with almost over half our food.

"How about we go for a walk in one of the gardens or something?" She asked.

"Sure." I said. I was glad she didn't want to go home yet.

I paid for our dinner and then we left the restraunt I again held the door open for her and walked her to her side of the car.

She stopped in front of the door so I really couldn't open it. She turned and looked up to me. "Thank you for dinner. I really enjoyed it." She told me. I bent down and kissed her lightly and felt her kiss me back.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, I did too." I kissed her once more. "But it's not over." I told her and opened her door. She sat down and twisted her legs in. When she was comfortable I shut the door and went back to my side. I opened the door and started the car. I put it in reverse and drove out of the parking lot. I didn't know where to go at first but then I thought of the perfect spot. I went towards the outer part of court the way we would go to leave passing the road to the house. A few miles passed and I pull into a parking lot with a few cars and turn off the car.

I got out and went to open Allies door. I held my hand out and she took it. "Are you cold?" I asked before shutting the door.

"No, I'm fine." She said and took my hand. We walked slowly down the side walk and along the path. The tree's we're light with twinkling light and lamp post down every so many feet. We soon came to an opening and there were gardens, benches, and a river.

"I haven't been here in a long time." She said. "I forgot how beautiful it was." We walked a little further and then took a turn. We chose to sit on a bench near some flower bed at the end of pier on a bench in front of the railing and looked at the river. Across from it was nothing but woods.

"It is beautiful. I used to come down here to fish." I told her. That's how I knew of the place.

"I used to come here with a previous charge of mine. She liked to take walks in the parks. She also liked to fish."

"Who is your old charge?" I asked curiously.

"The late Princess Badica" She said.

"I never met her." I said.

She smiled. "She was sweet older lady. She didn't like to go out anywhere unprotected. She hardly left court when I was with her. She was in her seventies when I was her guardian. When she passed I took my mothers place as head guardian at the academy." She said.

"You seem to be really fond of her." I state.

She nodded. "I was, she was a wise woman. She treated people different than other royals did in her time. Lissa reminds me of her a lot." She stated.

"Is that why you are close to Lissa and Rose?" I asked.

"A little, but actually I was fond of them from a young age. Rose has always been protective of Lissa, since they were little kids. When her parents died I stayed close to Lissa. I wanted to be a mother figure to her, so she had some one to go to at all times." She said.

"That's very nice of you."

"It is. I have always looked over them Roses mother wasn't around much because of her job. So I tried to be there for them as much as I could."

"Is that why you came here when Dimitri called you?" I asked.

"One reason, the other was I wanted a change."

"What kind of change?"

"Well, I have lived my life taken care of everyone and putting my job first. When Rose and Lissa ran away, I was crushed. I didn't understand why they did without coming to anyone for help until they came back and everything started to fall into place. Then it all made since. When they graduated I missed them. My job wasn't as interesting." She laughed. "They made sure I stayed busy. I wanted to be here for them and my friends. I missed them and I felt like it was time for me to retire someone else could easily do my job. I wanted to try to have my own life to."

"And in taking the job you were able to do that too?" I asked.

"Yeah, well I could try." She smiled at me. I saw a flash of something in her eyes but I couldn't pin point it.

"Are you okay?"

"I think so, I'm not sure. Thinking of all this brought something to mind."

"If you don't mind me asking, what is it?" I said

"No, I don't mind." She said shaking her head a little.

She took a breathe before continuing. "Thinking of this just reminded me of something last week." I looked at her to continue.

"I was leaving the hospital from my shift. Mikhail hadn't gotten there yet but Dimitri said it was fine that I could go. So when I left I decided I wanted to go by the coffee shop before going home." She jumped into details of how she saw Mikhail there sitting with Tasha but when she confronted them he had told her that he was making sure Tasha stay away from Rose and Dimitri. That there well being was none of her business.

"But the funny thing when he left, he through a lot of money on the table. I figured if he had ordered his coffee at the counter like he said he would have already paid. But if there was dishes on the table and ticket maybe he had actually sat down and ordered. Why would he be with Tasha when he is supposed to be watching out for Rose?" She said.

I thought this over before I answered. It didn't seem right. The way he acted last night, the money and his reaction to Allie finding them together. "I agree it doesn't sound right. Why didn't you say something to Dimitri?" I asked.

"Every time I wanted to Rose or Mikhail has been around him and I figured if what I think is true than I don't Mikhail catching on to what I think. If he thinks anyone is watching him then we will never find out." I agreed with that. It would be too risky.

"Why didn't you say anything when Rose was around?" I wondered.

"Rose is in a very serious state. She is already high risk and I don't want to worry her. I figured I should wait to get Dimitri alone or I would tell Abe. He has his way of finding things out." She told me.

I took her hand in mine. "How about this, I can be with you and we can tell Abe together and I can try to find some time with Dimitri alone and tell him. We do spend time together and hang out without everyone around, it would be easy for me." I said.

She thought it over for a minute. "That sounds fine with me, I think I would like it better if I had someone with me. Abe can be kind of scary sometimes especially when it comes to Roses well being."

"You noticed that too huh?"

She laughed and held up two fingers close together. "Just a little bit." I put my arm around her shoulders and she laid her head on my chest. "It feels good to have finally told someone though."

I kissed the top of her head. We sat in silence for a little while and watch the sun slowly come up and lights flick off around the part. After the sun was up we walked back to the car hand in hand. I opened her door for again as she got in and then closed it, then walked around to my side. I started the car and started back towards the house. It was a quit ride and there was music playing quietly. I cast a glance over to Allie and noticed she was really tired; she was starting to fall asleep. I put my hand on hers and she laced her fingers with mine.

We got back to the house and I turned off the car. She opened her sleepy eyes as I was opening her door. I held a hand down and she took it. As she stood up she almost fell but I caught her.

"Are you okay?" I asked

She nodded her head and covered her mouth as she yawned. She lifted one leg at a time to take off her shoes and carried then by the straps with her fingers with her other arm linked on mine and head rest on my arm. We stopped at the door and faced each other.

"I had a really good time tonight." She told me.

"I did too. I hope we can have another one soon." I said.

She smiled. "I'd like that." I bent down and kissed her on her soft lips. This time it was a short on more like long sweet ones. I dropped her hand brought one of mine on the small of her back and the other on a cheek. She had her on my hips. I felt her tongue lightly trace my bottom lip and I granted her access. It was a sloppy kiss like teenagers would get carried away with. Just something sensual and held more meaning, after a minute we broke apart and I gave her a small gentle kiss.

"Thank you Lang." She told me.

"Your welcomes Allie" I said back.

I opened the door and let her walk in first then shut it behind me. I saw her look in the living room and blush. Rose and Dimitri were sitting on the couch and Rose had looked up at us entering and smiled.

"I think I'm going to lie down." She said to me.

"Would you like me to walk you upstairs?" I asked.

"Sure" She said giving me another smile.

We walked up stairs and stopped outside her door. She turned to me and she still had the smile on her face. I bent down and kissed her softly one more time.

"Have a good night Allie." She took my hand before I could walk away though.

"I don't know if I'm tired." She said and cast a look down. "I was thinking I may watch a movie. Would you like to join me?" She asked.

This brightened my mood. Although we were home I still didn't want the date to end. "What do you have in mind?" I asked.

"I don't know. I have a few movies I haven't watched yet." She looked back up at me.

"Sure, I would love to." I said and kissed her one more time. She twisted the door knob then went in her room and she shut the door. We kissed a few more minutes and then finally broke apart again. I hated to break apart, I felt like I could kiss her forever but this was still the first date and I couldn't bring myself to do anything more than that tonight besides what a movie with her of course.

She walked over to the TV and I noticed beside it was DVD shelf with what looked like at least a hundred movies. She grabbed the ones that still had the wrapper on them and handed them to me. "Pick one, I don't care really. I think I'm going to get out of this dress though." She said and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

She went to her closet than she went to the bathroom. I was trying to decide which movie I wanted to watch. There was the new Harry Potter which was a definite no. The roommate and No strings attached. I was thinking it over for a few seconds. Scary or romantic comedy, in the end I went with Scary. After all this was the end of a date night and nothing better than to have a scary movie for her to cuddle up next to me.

A few minutes later Allie came out of the bathroom in a pair of black shorts and a grey crop top with another shirt or maybe a sports bra underneath. I wasn't sure. She pulled the covers back on her bed and climbed on it.

"What did you decide on?" She asked.

I held up a movie. "The Roommate, does that sound good to you?" I asked.

"Sure, I love scary movies." She said.

I walked up to her side of the bed and bent down to whisper in her ear. "What's your favorite scary movie?" I asked.

She laughed and it was the most beautiful sound in the world. "The cheesy ones" She said.

I laughed. "Mine too." I kissed her and then pulled away. Walked over and turned on the TV and DVD player and popped in the movie. I turned back to her. "I'm going to change out of this real fast. I'll be right back. Do you want anything?" I asked.

"The remote and maybe a diet coke" She said.

I nod my head to her. "A diet coke coming up" I said as I walked over to her and gave her the remote. She grabbed my hand and looked up at me. I bent down and gave her a small kiss. She smiled and I pulled away. "I'll be right back babe."

I left to my room and quickly pulled off my clothes and tossed them in a basket to take to dry cleaning later. I grabbed a pair of grey work out pants and a white tee shirt and put them on, brushed my teeth, and then went down stairs to get drinks. I noticed Rose and Dimitri lying on the couch watching TV but I didn't stop to talk. Rose cast another glance at me and smiled as I went up the stairs. I knocked on Allies door before going in. I shut the door as I went in and gave her, her drink.

"Thanks you." She pats the bed beside her. "Climb in, I don't bite." She said with a smile.

I climbed in bed beside her and she turned off the light on her bedside table. She pressed play and the movie started. About half way through the movie she felt cold so I put the covers over her and scooted closer to her. She leaned her head back on my chest and I kissed the top of her head. I wrapped my arms around and went back to the movie. It was near the end when she jumped and I chuckled to myself.

When the movie was over I noticed she didn't grab the remote so I did and I turned it off. I then noticed she must have fallen asleep. I ran my fingers through her hair. She steered a little and I really didn't want to wake her up so I stopped. I turned off the DVD and the TV. I tried to slowly get up but right when I pulled my arm she flipped on her side and grabbed me around the waist. Well so much for that idea. I lay back down and flipped on my side facing her. That night I fell asleep holding the girl of my dreams and keeping her close.

RPOV

I got a call from Lissa asking if where I was and I told her I was almost home. I had completely forgotten about Alberta's date tonight. I was supposed to help her get ready. We pulled in the drive and I hopped out of the car. Dimitri was right behind me.

"Where are you going in such a rush?" He asked.

"Alberta and Lissa need me." I said and kissed his cheek before going upstairs.

We split up and I went up stairs. I knocked on the door as I heard Alberta say something along the lines of 'kiss' so I got curious. I opened the door and jumped right into there conversation.

It turned out she couldn't find anything to wear so I had the perfect thing. I went to my closet and pulled out a beautiful white dress I bought at Express. I loved it and I knew it would hug my every curve but I honestly couldn't see me fitting into it ever, even if I lost all the baby weight afterwards and getting back into my work out routine. I tied the dress together with pastel colored jewelry and a pair of aqua blue peep toe pumps.

When it was time for the date Lissa and I went down stairs to meet the others. Langston got up along with Dimitri and Christian when they heard us. We met them at the end of the stairs and I had to admit Langston could clean up pretty nice when he needed to. Not saying he was bad looking, because that certainly wasn't the case. I smiled at Langston as I walked by him to take my place by Dimitri and kissed him softly.

A few minutes later Albert came down and look on every guys face was priceless. I couldn't remember the last time I saw her dress up or if I ever even have but she sure did a good job at turning everyone's head at her entrance. She looked beautiful.

We left the room to give Alberta and Langston some privacy. We had all stepped to the back yard and I noticed the place was covered in colorful pieces and the water hose was lying on the ground.

"What the heck happened out here?" I asked and noticed Dimitri noticed the mess too.

"The boys decided to have a water war today." Lissa said.

She was smiling big and then I caught a flash of something through the bond. I smiled back but soon covered it. The guys were talking about something, we weren't paying attention to them just like they weren't us. So I decided to go along with Lissa's plan.

"This place is a mess." I said bending over to pick pieces of balloons up. I snuck my way towards the water hose as Lissa made her way near the pool where she picked up a water gun. None of the guys had noticed what we were up too except I couldn't help but notice Adrian wasn't anywhere to be seen.

I griped the water hose in my hand so the water wouldn't come out the end and get there attention. I saw Lissa nod to me so I let it go as I aimed right at the guys. Lissa had managed to hid behind a tree near them and had her gun ready for them when they ran.

The water hit them and they yelled and started to run in different directions. I saw Lissa and Adrian both step out at the same time. He had a water gun the strap hanging over his shoulder and a cooler of water balloons. I aimed the water hose at Dimitri and got him on the front part of his body. He paused for a minute and then gave a low growl, talk about animal instincts. I dropped the hose in attempt to run back in the house but he caught me by the waist.

"Dimitri Belikov you let me go right now." I said laughing.

"I don't think so Roza. Do you think it's fair that you just got me soaking wet and I would let you get away with it?"

I looked up to him with a pouty face and pleading eyes. "What are you going to do? I'm pregnant I should be off limits."

He laughed. "I'm pretty sure the water won't hurt you, plus you asked the doctor if you could still swim, he said it was fine." Then I understood what he meant and tried to pull away but he had a good hold on me.

"No you don't. I am not going in that pool." I screamed as he picked me up. "Plus you don't want to get wet."

"Too late I already am." He said dropping his car keys and cell phone out of his pockets and then jumped in holding me.

We came up for air and my hair was in my face. I had to go back under to get it out of the way. "You suck." So not the way we had planned it. I was now in the pool swimming in my white sun dress and there was nothing but the guys and Lissa.

I started laughing. "What's so funny?" He asked.

"You really didn't think about his before you did it did you?" I said and he got it. He looked down at me and smiled.

"I kind of like it." He said and splashed him with water. I swam down to the shallow end and he followed me. He took my by the hand and pulled me back to him and kissed me.

"Here" he said taking off is shirt and handing it to me.

"Yeah, that's what I want a wet shirt to go with my wet dress." I said rolling my eyes and then putting it on.

I looked around and noticed Adrian had his last water balloon in his hand along with Mikhail coming behind him and Eddie in front with water guns, that was not going to be pretty and he was going to freak when his hair gets messed up. Christian had come how gotten the water gun from Lissa and chasing her but he caught up to her because he was faster.

He grabbed her by the waist and picked her up. He carried her to the pool and threw her in. I couldn't help but to laugh, maybe Christian could actually pick her up and carrier.

She came up for water and swam over to us. "Okay, so that did not go the way I planned." She said smiling.

"Me either. Where is Adrian?" I asked looking around.

I saw Eddie was looking for him too and Mikhail was whipping water out of his face. Mikhail decided to shot out his gun not even looking at who he gets and sprays Eddie. Everyone started laughing and they were soon in a one on one match.

When they finally gave up or ran out of water whatever one it was. We decided we should all get out now. I was the last one out of the pool and Dimitri took my hand. The entire yard was wet. I didn't want to sleep.

When I was out of the clear of slipping I noticed a smoking Adrian sitting on the steps completely dry.

"You have got to be kidding me!" I said.

Everyone turned to see what I was looking at and laughed.

"How did you know what we were up to anyways Adrian?" I asked

He shrugged his shoulders "I can tell from the bond when you're in her head and it was written all over your face what y'all were up to."

I shrugged at him. "Oh, well. Can you get some towels since you're not wet please?" I asked.

He put out his smoke and went in side. I saw Dimitri walk over and pick up his phone and then realization hit everyone else and they started pulling cell phones and other things out of there pockets.

I just started laughing because I didn't have to worry with the mess of it all.

"No funny Rose." Christian said trying to turn his phone on. "Damn it."

Adrian came back out with towels and I gladly took one. I dried off and went inside followed behind Dimitri and the rest. I stopped in the door way and turned to everyone.

"Okay guys y'all are going to have to lose the pants, someone's going to slip if the floor gets wet. So Lissa and I will go upstairs and y'all can lose the pants and put them in the laundry room." I said.

Christian laughed at me but everyone agreed. "Okay mom." He said and I laughed.

Lissa and I went up the stairs to our own rooms. I stripped off my clothes and turned on the water to the shower. I was just about to turn the water off when I heard the door open and Dimitri stepped in behind me putting his hands around my waist and laid them on my tiny bump.

I leaned my head back on his chest and closed my eyes standing under the running water. He kissed me softly on the neck.

"Are you okay Roza?" He asked.

I shook my head. "Just tired babe" I told him as I turned around to face home and wrap my arms around his waist.

"Why don't you finish up and lay down. You should take it easy anyways; maybe that wasn't such a good idea." I knew what he was referring to, no need for him to elaborate.

I rinsed the rest of the soap off of me, opened the door and grabbed my towel. I dried my feet before steeping out and dried the rest of me off. I towel dried my hair really well and the combed through it. Wrapping the towel back around me I went to my closet. I ha no clue what I wanted to wear so I just sat down Indian style on the floor of my closet until Dimitri came in.

At first I thought he was just going to get his clothes and leave but then he saw me. He slid on some boxer briefs and sat down beside me his hand lying on my upper arm.

"What's wrong?" He asked me and ran his thumb down my cheek. I hadn't noticed I tears running down my face.

I sighed to myself. "I didn't even realize I was crying." I said looking up at him.

"Are you okay love?" I nod my head to him.

"Yes, I just don't know what to wear." I gave him a half smile.

"Is that all?" He gave me a smile. He stood up and grabbed a hanger.

"How is this?" He said holding up a white Tommy Hilfiger spaghetti strap night gown that came down mid thigh length. It had a faded red and blue paisley pattern on it.

"I guess that will do. I didn't even see it." I told him and kissed his cheek taking it and slipping it over my head and put on a pair of white lace panties with it. He grabbed a pair of his lounge pants and a tee shirt and we lay on the bed together.

I was laying on my head on his chest listening to his heart beat when my stomach made a funny sound.

"Are they hungry?" He asked and I could hear the smile in his voice.

"I don't know about them but I'm starving." I said. He was rubbing his hand on my stomach.

"What would you like to eat babe?" He asked.

I thought it over for a moment. "I really don't know. Is Christian cooking or is it a fend for yourself night?" I asked.

"No he's not." He told me.

"So fend for yourself it is." I paused. "I think I want sushi" I told him.

"Nope, not happening, think of something else."

I look at him like he was out of his mind. "Did you seriously just tell me no?" I asked.

He just nodded his head. So I thought it over some more. "We'll if I can't have raw fish can I have cooked fish?" I asked.

"Negative ghost rider" He said.

"You suck right now, you know that."

So I continued to think. "I got it." I stated.

"What is it?"

"You can't think I'm weird" I paused. "But I think I want Quiche and fruit."

He laughed. "Okay, Quiche and fruit it is."

We got up and went down stairs to the kitchen to find Christian and Lissa sitting at the island in there pajamas too.

"What are y'all doing?" I asked taking a seat across from Lissa.

"Trying to figure out dinner" She told me.

"I was just about to make Quiche. I can double the recipe and it would make four." Dimitri said.

"I'm not sure I'm in the mood for a egg pie." She said smiling. "What do y'all think of pizza?"

I thought it over for a minute and nod. "It would be so much faster and so much easier." I told Dimitri who in the end agreed also.

That night everyone was tired from the events of the second water war. Adrian and Eddie didn't come back that night. Mikhail joined us four down stairs and at pizza. No one fought or argued. It was actually peaceful. No interruptions, no parents, just us house mates.

We ate Pizza and watch Tyler Perry movies. I think the reason everyone agreed to them, was Lissa and I insisted on them. After watching 'Meet the Browns', 'I Could Do Bad All By Myself', Mikhail went upstairs to bed. We put in 'Medea Goes to Jail' and some where along the way Lissa feel asleep. Christian took her upstairs to bed.

We had just finished the other movie when I looked over at the clock and saw the time. It was almost six thirty. I turned off the DVD played and turned the TV to 'Nick Nite', 'The Nanny' was on. I settled into the comfort of Dimitri's side with a blanket over me. I don't know how long we we're asleep but I woke up when I heard the door open.

Alberta and Mikhail were coming home and I couldn't help but notice it was almost seven. I smiled at Alberta and laid my head back on Dimitri.

I was almost back to sleep when I heard someone come down the stairs. It was Langston but he went to the kitchen and then left again. I wonder what those two are up to. I thought to myself.

I soon realized I was not going to sleep any good down here so I got up. I nudge Dimitri by his arm.

"Babe, I'm going to bed." I told him.

He opened his eyes and looked at me than out the window. "What time is it?"

"Seven."

We turned off the lights and TV. Took the glasses to the sink and sat them in it. I would do them when I woke up. On the way up the stairs we passed Mikhail's room as his door was opening. He was getting up for his shift I guessed. No one aid anything to each other. I couldn't quit tell if there was still tension between them because they didn't speak.

We went to our room and I climbed in bed. Within second I was out cold.

The next morning I woke up again alone. I couldn't stand that but there wasn't anything I could do about it now. I went to the restroom, brushed my teeth, and pulled my hair in a pony tail.

I wasn't sure if I was actually ready to get up for the day quit yet. It was still pretty early only four pm. So I grabbed a cardigan out of my closest and slipped it on to have something over my thin short night dress. I walked down the stairs and to the kitchen. I was seriously thirsty. As I walked in the room closing my eyes and yawning I heard someone chuckle.

I opened my eyes and smiled at none other than daddy dearest and the love of my life.

"What are you doing here so early old man?" I asked getting a cup down for coffee.

"I got an early start on my day and wanted to come see my future son in law. I knew he would be awake so why not?" He said.

I was just about to pour some coffee in the cup but a hand stopped me. I looked up to see my dad. "I also know your not supposed to drink coffee or soda more than once a day when your pregnant kiz."

"Come on, I can go with out caffeine just not first thing in the morning." I said.

He shook his head. "You shouldn't be up this early. Why are you?" He asked.

"I'm not sure. I was thirsty though." I shrugged.

"Well how about you have something else for now. I have a feeling you aren't going to be up long because you look tired and you can have coffee when you get up for the day. It would do well then, not now." He told me and I knew he was right. It would be ridiculous to have some now when I would just go back to sleep. So I opted for orange juice.

I took a seat at the island with them and tried to pay attention to there conversation but I wasn't really interested.

"Dad, where is mom?" I asked curiously.

"She's still at home asleep. Don't worry I left a note." I rolled my eyes at him.

"Oh yeah, cause that would do some good. A note, seriously? You shouldn't be going out without a guard. You'd have a fit if I did that." I said.

He shook his head. "Kiz don't worry about me. I have other guards and plus you'd have to be a fool to test me." He said with a smirk on his face.

"You're right. But there are still crazy people out there running around doing as they please remember. I'm sure their crazy enough to attempt to test you." I said.

"I'll keep that in mind." He said.

"Good." I kissed him on the cheek. "I think I'm going to go back to sleep. I'm still tired."

"Sleep well Kiz. I love you."

"Love you too dad. Will you be here later today?" I asked.

"Yes, I haven't seen much of you so I will." He told me. I gave him another hug and a smile to Dimitri. I left them to talk and went upstairs to my bed.

On the way up I passed Alberta's room as the door opened. I was shocked to see Langston with her. I gave her a smile but nothing more. I was so going to squeeze details out of her later. They went down stairs and I went to my bed and fell back to sleep.

Abe's POV

I was sound asleep and the next thing I know I'm being woke up by someone calling my cell phone. I looked at it and noticed it was Kaleena Kozlov.

"Guardian Kozlov this better be import to drag me out of bed before the sun goes down." I said answering the phone.

"I'm sorry sir. I wouldn't have called if I didn't think it was important."

I scuffed silently. "What is it?" I asked curiously now.

"Sir I think I should come by and talk in private."

"Fine but make it quick." I said and hung up.

"Who was that?" Janine asked me with her eyes closed.

I kissed her forehead. "It was only Kaleena. Don't worry I will see what is going on and you just go back to sleep babe."

She fell right back to sleep and I got up to get dressed for the day. I was in the kitchen making coffee when there a soft knock at the back door. I went to it and opened it for Kaleena.

"What's this about?" I asked walking to the kitchen. She leaned against the counter as I poured my coffee.

"Sir I just got a phone call from Pavel saying he saw Tasha Ozera leaving The Queen's Palace." Well that certainly wasn't what I expected to hear.

"Well that is strange." I said thinking it over. The Queen couldn't stand Tasha and vise versa.

"It is." She agreed as her phone went off. I looked over to her to see her looking at it.

"Sir, he just sent a picture to my phone of Tasha leaving and the queen chatting with her outside of her home."

"Send it to my phone." I told her at once. I put the coffee in a to go type mug. "Is there anything else?"

She shook her head. "No sir." She said.

"Alright then, I want a close eye kept on Tasha. I am going to figure out a way to have eyes in the palace. When I work this out I will call you. Let Pavel know there will be a meeting soon." I grabbed my keys. "Ride with me over to the girl's house. I want to see Dimitri and let him know about this. I will be right back."

I went up stairs and left a note for Jane letting her know where I will be when I woke up.

Then I went back down stairs and got in the car, Kaleena in the passenger seat.

"I don't want any of this to get to Rose. It will be your job to make sure of that." I told her and smiled at the worried look that came across her face that was soon covered with a mask.

We got to the house and I told Kaleena she could take the car back to my house and the keys inside and lock the door before she left with her key.

I didn't bother with knocking because I had my own key to the house. I went inside and went straight to the kitchen. I found Dimitri standing in front of the coffee pot.

"Belikov" I said and he jumped and turned. I smiled at the fact I caught him off guard. "Well aren't we neglecting our duties this morning?" I said taking a seat at the Island.

"What are you doing here so early?" He asked.

"That is a good question. When you're done take a seat and we will talk." I told him. "Where is Rose?" I asked making sure she wasn't around to hear any of what I was about to.

"She is still asleep." He said taking a seat across from me.

"Good, we have business to discuss and I don't want her in on this at all. Do you understand me?"

"Gotcha so what's this about?" He asked.

"Well to start I got a very interesting wake up call this morning and let me just state I was not happy waking up hours earlier than I wanted to." I took a sip of my own coffee. "But that is beside the point. Guardian Kozlov called me to come by this morning. Apparently Tasha Ozera and Queen Tatiana have been spending some quality time together during the night."

"What do you think they were up to?" He asked.

"Well if I knew that I doubt I would be sitting around." I said with a hint of attitude. "I plan o figure out what is going on without us getting near either of them. But I came here to let you know about this without letting Rose know. I don't want my daughter to have to worry or get stressed over nothing. I have made my threat clear to Tasha she would be a fool to underestimate me."

"What to do you plan on doing with Tatiana?" He asked.

"Well that is another matter. I can't just threaten her without being charged for high treason and I really don't want it to come to that. She has become old and unstable more over the years. I think the royal court is starting to realize this. I have heard rumors from close friends of mine on the counsel that Tatiana is wanting to over through the court and start bringing moroi out to fight along side their guards or maybe even alone for those who don't have guards."

"When the hell did this come about?" Dimitri asked taken aback.

I shrugged. "I found out about three days ago."

"That is ridiculous she already had dhampir's graduating at sixteen. Why would she choose this too?"

"I don't know and I don't think the court will allow it to happen. I think they will over though her and there will eventually be a ruling for a new queen if she attempts to go through with it." Thinking this over I had a thought come along.

I hadn't even notice I was quiet in thought till Dimitri cleared his throat. "Sorry. I was just thinking something over."

"Your probably thinking the same thing I am then." Right when he said that we heard a door open up stairs and a few seconds later a sleep eyed Rose walked into the kitchen. She was yawning and had her eyes shut as she did. I gave Dimitri a narrow eyed look saying do not say anything.

I soon cover my face with a smile and gave her a laugh. She popped her eyes open and looked at me.

"What are you doing here so early old man?" She asked getting a coffee cup down.

"I got an early start on my day and wanted to come see my future son in law. I knew he would be awake so why not?" I gave her a smile and took the cup out of her hand."I also know your not supposed to drink coffee or soda more than once a day when your pregnant kiz."

"Come on, I can go with out caffeine just not first thing in the morning." She said giving me a look that said 'I have got to be kidding her' but I wasn't.

He shook his head. "You shouldn't be up this early. Why are you?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. I was thirsty though." She shrugged. I cast a look to Dimitri and he did the same. I guess this was a weird thing for her.

"Well how about you have something else for now. I have a feeling you aren't going to be up long because you look tired and you can have coffee when you get up for the day. It would do well then, not now." She looked so tired and I knew I was right. Just a matter of time and then we could carry on our real conversation of interest.

We we're talking about hunting which I knew bore Rose to death. The only hunting she liked was the strigoi kind and she wasn't even interested in that right now being pregnant and all. She was tuned out I could tell by the way she laid her head in her hand propped up on one elbow and looking at magazine.

She eventually interrupted and asked "Dad, where is mom?"

"She's still at home asleep. Don't worry I left a note." She rolled her eyes at me and I tried not to laugh.

"Oh yeah, cause that would do some good. A note, seriously? You shouldn't be going out without a guard. You'd have a fit if I did that."

He shook his head. "Kiz don't worry about me. I have other guards and plus you'd have to be a fool to test me." I said with a smirk.

"You're right. But there are still crazy people out there running around doing as they please remember. I'm sure their crazy enough to attempt to test you." I said.

"I'll keep that in mind." She had no clue how well she hit the head with hammer on that one.

"Good." She kissed my cheek. "I think I'm going to go back to sleep. I'm still tired."

"Sleep well Kiz. I love you."

"Love you too dad. Will you be here later today?" She asked.

"Yes, I haven't seen much of you so I will." I told her and that was true I missed her a lot when we didn't get to see each other. I had missed out on nearly eighteen years of her life and I regretted it everyday. It was an agreement Janine and I had come up with because of my job. She wanted her to grow up to be the best guard and so did I. My job was risky business and I was always traveling. She understood this though and now I was making it up to her every way I possibly could.

She left to go upstairs and back to bed. I was just about to start the conversation up when two more people joined us.

"Morning Alberta, Langston." Dimitri said with a smile on his face. What was up with that?

"Morning" They said together.

I just shook my head. "Glad you two are here. Might as well get this all out in the open" I said.

"What's going on?" Guardian Judson asked.

"I will get to that in a minute. Where is Guardian Tanner?" I asked.

"He is in bed." Dimitri told me.

"Well that's a shame. You can fill him in later than." I said to Dimitri.

I looked at the other. "Why don't you take a seat?"

They did so as Dimitri got up to get everyone some coffee. I didn't care about him he had already known enough. I jumped into the story of my morning and of Tasha and Tatiana. I pulled out my phone and showed everyone the picture.

It was a simple picture of them standing outside one of the side doors at Tatiana's She was standing facing Tasha with her arms crossed over her chest with a half smile and her eyes slanted. Tasha was standing next to her car and facing the queen with a smile on her face. It looked like they were having a heart to heart about something.

"I want to know what that something is." I said with a quiet but forceful voice.

Dimitri had already joined back the table and he nod to agree with me. I could tell by looking at Alberta and Langston they had the same look on there face and felt the same way.

I notice Alberta turn to Langston and he gave a slight nod of his head. She then looked at me with a look of concern on her face. I didn't like that because Alberta was beautiful, tough, not scared of anything woman. She was about thirty five and almost the same height as Rose. She has beautiful tan skin like most Russians her hair is about to her is a little past her shoulders and the same shade as Dimitri's. She's a beautiful wise woman. I had mad respect for her, so I was shocked when she had a look like that on her face.

"What" I asked.

She cleared her throat and talked a little low. "I have something I think we should discuss but I don't think it's safe to talk about it here."

I looked at her with my eyes wide.

I hope to have the next chapter up soon. I hate when I say this and it takes longer than I want. Hope you enjoy!

Characters I own

Langston Judson

Kaleena Kozlov

Dr. Christian Thomae

The three unnamed (To you at least) Triplets (These names will be posted soon enough.)

I would again like to say I don't own Vampire Academy (sadly) I just want to play with it.