Sorry for the delay, I've been very busy with exam prep and SACs for school, but after this there's only one more chapter to go! So read on! :D

Chapter Eleven

HAVING JUST WITNESSED LARA BEING stopped by Dimitri, I forced myself to focus on the problem at hand.

Carly.

Obviously relieved, she turned around to face me again. She pulled out a long, sharp blade from her jacke,t and placed it so the tip just rested under my chin. I could feel the cold blade inch into my throat every time I breathed.

"Now where were we? Hmm... Oh that's right, I was just about to kill you."

I wanted to speak, but knew that if breathing hurt me, then talking wouldn't be the smartest idea, so instead I concentrated on breaking Mason's connection with me.

Carly slid the blade slowly across my throat, but I refused to make a sound or even wince. "Well aren't you brave. It's a shame that you won't be for long, by the time I'm done with you, you'll be begging for mercy."

She giggled her annoying laugh, but it didn't matter because I had just found Mason's hold over me. I could feel his compulsion in the back of my mind, so all I needed to do was focus on that one spot and make him release me. Sounded simple enough, I just hoped that it would work.

With Carly busy laughing at her own insanity, I made a break for it. I somehow managed to break Mason's compulsion, and with a quick kick into Carly's face, I ran for it. I didn't really stop to think of where I should run to, but my body was instinctively heading towards Dimitri, subconsciously knowing that I would have a better chance of bringing Carly down with his help.

I could hear the sound of something flying towards me, but before I could move out of the way, Carly's blade plunged into my leg. A scream left my lips as I fell to the ground. I felt hopeless, as all I could do was lay there, vulnerably clutching my leg. It felt as if my leg was on fire, and the fact that blood was spurting out everywhere, didn't help either. The blade had sunk deep into my skin, and I was fairly sure that it had struck a bone, and possibly some nerves.

"Damn it!" I hissed, as I tried to get to my feet. It was useless though and Carly was back on me in less than a second, with Mason right behind her.

She grabbed me by my shirt and heaved me onto my feet, but as much as I wanted to stay upright, my leg just wasn't able to support me.

Carly laughed and leaned down, grabbing the hilt of the blade and ripping it out from my leg. I shoved my fist into my mouth and bit down hard to muffle my screams, not wanting anyone to hear me again.

I could taste blood in my mouth as tears ran down my face, but I didn't wipe them away. In order to be strong, you have to be unafraid to show your weaknesses, and I think getting stab in the freaking leg is a good enough reason to cry.

Carly pulled the blade back, ready to strike.

"Don't worry Rose, it will only hurt... a lot."

Carly made her move, and I made mine. She lunged towards me with her blade, and I rolled over to evade her, using my good leg to kick the blade out of her grasp.

Not wasting any time, I forced myself to my feet, practically hoping as I made my way towards the others. Everyone was busy in battle, unable to help me.

I looked for Dimitri and saw him leaning over Lara, but I was unable to tell what was going on with them.

Suddenly I felt icy arms wrap around me, bringing me to a halt.

"Mason, come on, you don't have to do this," I practically pleaded.

"But I want to," he replied, voice filled with venom. "I... I..." Mason sputtered, suddenly unable to talk.

His grip slackened on me, and I turned around to see his body shifting and changing, his once solid form was now almost see through and his eyes were turning back to their normal colour.

Carly, rushed to Mason's side and growled. I looked over to where Terra was and spotted her on the floor, her hands painfully clutching her skull. I knew what this meant. It meant that Lara was dying, and that Terra was now in her weakest state. Through the bond, I could feel Lissa's emotions rising. She would have to act fast and make decision as to who she would save. She only had enough strength to either heal Lara, resulting in the Guardian's having to kill Terra, or restore Terra, leaving Lara to die.

"You!" Carly hissed, turning towards me. "You always have to ruin everything don't you! Well, I've got news for you, this ends now. You will pay with your life!" She chucked the blade at me again, but before it could reach me, someone jumped in its path.

It was Mason.

He grabbed the blade, spun it around, and sent it flying back towards Carly.

Caught off guard, Carly could only scream as the blade entered her stomach.

"Rose!" I turned to see Dimitri running towards me.

"Quick, stake her!" I said as soon as he reached my side. I could see anger flare up in his eyes as he spots the wound on my leg. "Don't worry about me now, kill her now, otherwise she'll keep haunting us."

My words finally got through to Dimitri, but instead of walking over and staking her himself, he picked me up and placed me down were Carly was currently whimpering on the floor. He handed me the stake, and gestured for me to go ahead. And I did.

"Game over Carly," I hissed as I plunged the stake deep into her chest.

I couldn't believe it, but she was finally dead. I turned around to see Mason smiling.

"Thank you Mase," I said with a small smile. He just shrugged, acting like it was no big deal, and I realised then that he was back to his normally ghostly self, and unable to speak. "Do you think that you will be able to cross over now?" I was afraid to ask, but I needed to know.

Mason nodded, and relief swept over me. I could tell that Mason only had seconds left, so before he disappeared for the last time, I told him what I had been feeling every single day since his death. "I miss you Mase, and I'm so sorry for getting you killed."

Mason just shook his head in reply, and mouthed the words, "Not your fault that I loved you." I could feel tears running down my cheek, and the warmth of Dimitri's arms as he wrapped them around me. "I miss you too Rose," were the last words I could make out from Mase, before he disappeared forever.

Blinking away my tears, I turned around in Dimitri's arms to face him.

"What happened to Lara?"I looked into his eyes, and knew that she was gone, but that wasn't all that had happened. "Dimitri?"

"I...I..." He stuttered. "She wanted me to kill her, and I refused. But then I heard you screamed. I knew you didn't have long left..."

I gasped.

"You didn't... did you?" The agony in Dimitri's eyes broke my heart, but he wouldn't have killed Lara for me. At least, that's what I kept telling myself until someone finally broke the silence.

"No, he didn't. He couldn't do it."

Both of our heads turned at the sound of Lara's voice. She was leaning against Eddie, using his body for support as they headed towards us, with Lissa and Christian close behind.

"I thought you were dead," Dimitri said, his voice filled with disbelief.

"Not quite. I almost died, but then Queen..." Lara quickly corrected herself upon seeing Lissa giving her looks of disapproval. "I mean, Lissa, healed me."

She turned towards Lissa and gave her an appreciating smile. "Thank you."

Lissa nodded and gave her a small smile in reply. Then, she started over towards me.

"Rose hold out your leg," she ordered.

With the drama of everything that had been happening, I had almost forgotten about my leg. And now, with Lissa having mentioned it, I began to feel the burning, sharp pain, that I had been trying to ignore, starting to return once again. Well, at least I had been able to do it for a few minutes.

"No Liss, you've already used to much of your power, I'll be fi... Hey!... ouch!"

Ignoring me, Lissa grabbed my leg, refusing to take no for an answer, and quickly healed it. I could feel the magic through the bond as she worked on my leg, but I could also feel the darkness. Not wanting it to overload her, I took the darkness away, just like I had been doing all my life.

"Okay then, now that Lissa is satisfied with my leg, can someone tell me what actually happened," I asked, still confused.

"I knew Dimitri would never kill me, so when he was distracted by your screams, I snatched his stake and..." Lara finished by acting out the stake entering her chest.

"And I guess you're wondering what happened with Terra?" My mum asked as she joined our group.

I had previously been scanning through Lissa's thoughts, so I already knew what the verdict was with Terra.

"You staked her," I said, looking towards my mum. She nodded in confirmation, a little surprised at my knowledge. Even after so many years with being around me and Liss, my abilities to reach into Lissa's mind still startled her.

Lara was doing a good job at acting like she was grateful for having been saved, but I could tell that she was angry for us choosing her over her best friend, because that's exactly how I would be feeling. I would have to make sure to talk to her later.

"So... can we go now?" Christian asked impatiently, wrapping his arms around Lissa.
Everyone agreed that it was time to leave, and with the six Guardians that had survived the fight, we all hurried to gather our things and get of the cave.

Alberta and the other fallen Guardians were carried out with respect, and I squeezed Dimitri's hand comfortingly as we watched Alberta's body placed into one of the vans. We were standing at the top of the hill, looking down at the depressing scene taking place below. It was hard not to cry, and when I looked up to speak to Dimitri, I could see tears starting to slip down his cheek.

Without saying anything, I reached up my hand and softly stroked the tears away, then wrapped my arms around him, laying my head against his chest.

His arms wrapped around me in return, and I could feel his warm breath against my neck as he buried his face into my hair, not wanting to be seen as weak by anyone else but me.

"Aren't you going to tell me that it's all alright?" Dimitri asked in a whispered voice.

"No," I whispered back into his ear. "Because when people we love die, it's not alright."

After a few more moments of just holding each other, we broke apart, still keeping our hands interlinked together.

"How did you become so wise Roza?"

I stood on my tippy toes and pressed my lips to his own.

"I had a very wise teacher," I teased, earning me a small smile, as we started to head down the hill, into the brightness that was the sunrise.

So, that's the end of the chapter, what did guys think?
Only one more chapter to go!
Last chapter up A.S.A.P! n_n
Please R&R as your feedback is much appreciated! n_n
And thanks to everyone who has been reading my story so far, and especially to those who have been giving me feedback, you're all awesome!