Hey everyone, I have a confession. I'm going on holiday for the next 9 days. So there will be no updates. Please don't kill me. My advice: take your time reading this one and enjoy it. I would love to come home to a mail box full of reviews and the such like so get pressing that 'review' button! Love ya'll!

Stars lined the sky which had so far been cloudy when I went to the front of the guardian building. The air was slightly chilly and it was nice against my face – I was still slightly caught up about yesterday and the mist in the air did wonders to make me feel better. Eddie was near by and made his way over to me although I wished he wouldn't, and asked me why I disappeared yesterday. I lied and said I was thinking about the stresses of looking after Lissa and how our lives were going to change. He seemed to accept that no doubt having dwelled on the same subject before now.

There were a lot of us waiting outside the guardian building. Most of us were white making me think that we were mostly American. I couldn't pick out any accents other than American in the conversations I heard around me so it seemed a good bet. That and when I had a proper look round I recognised a fair few people.

Guardians split us off into groups of ten and took us to a massive filed at the back of the building. On that field we could all see a vast sea of tents that had been set up earlier in the day. They were all the same shade of green and people – for want of better words – were making camp. We trekked to the back go the field and were given tents and told to put them up.

Fear spiked within me as I remembered that fateful night. Rain, wind, hail, darkness. Dimitri's cry of pain. That cry shot through me again. I closed my eyes against it and a shiver snaked its way through my spine. The guardian started talking, telling us the basic frame work of the tent. I didn't hear it and was pulled into my own memories of how the tent worked. How it stopped people working.

The wound on Dimitri's hand, the feel of his blood on my skin flashed though my mind. It was a jagged wound, deep and rough. Nothing could have made it better apart from him going to get it checked out as soon as we had arrived like I urged him. I guess I was disappointed in him for thinking of me before looking out for himself. I would have been fine in the qualifier without him listening in unless Simona decided to take a swing at me. But he was all better now, right? I hated him for not letting Lissa heal him more than I did for him leaving. His leaving was only a repercussion of not letting Liss look at him. And it had all been his choice. I hated him for it but I respected his choice.

Only people moving off made me realise it was time to put our tents up. I hadn't even realised I'd been given one I was so wrapped up in my own musings. I found a space between two tents. Eddie and Meredith.

"Rose!" she called. "I haven't seen you in ages!"

"Hey, Meredith!" I was more excited at seeing her than I possibly thought I could be under the circumstances. "How's it going?"

"I got Adrian Ivashkov."

"Adrian!" the pole I was putting together almost dropped from my hands. "I wish you luck. What does he need a guardian for he never leaves court unless it's for St. Vladimir's?"

"He's doing errands for Tatiana meaning he needs to leave. I'm with a French guy. A rather hot French guy." She grinned. "You get Lissa?"

"After a fashion." I grouched.

"What do you mean? Who did you beat up this time?" she joked and had a look round to see if she could see any bruises or broken bones.

"Nearly the queen."

Meredith actually dropped the pole she was about to put in a hole and stared wide eyes. She knew I was badass and had a temper but she didn't think I'd actually do something like that. I glanced over at Eddie, who had almost constructed his tent because he wasn't gassing, asking if I was allowed to tell her. He shrugged and finished his tent and moved onto the camp bed. I told Meredith who listened expectantly and almost laughed at the idea of Lissa being scary.

After that we just talked about random stuff which helped me keep my mind from Dimitri. Until he turned up. I was trying to put the last leg on the camp bed and was epically failing. His hand closed over mine and pushed down popping the leg into place. I jerked up and glared at him. He didn't do anything but look at me. I looked away and fiddled with the bed. A shadow blocked out the light over me and I could tell it was Eddie here to save the day.

"Do you need help or something, Eddie?" I asked. As soon as I said it I cursed myself for not leaping into his arms like a damsel in distress. Only I would have made it look cool.

"No. How's the hand Guardian Belikov?"

"Getting better, thank you."

Eddie nodded once and walked away but there was a warning in it.

I stood up and put the bed in the sleeping compartment of the tent and sat in it hoping Dimitri would get the idea and leave me alone. He followed. I made a show of unpacking my sleeping bag and setting it out on the bed. Finally I couldn't stand the silence anymore.

"How's the hand?"

I looked round and looked at it for the first time. It was still slightly discoloured and the skin was wrinkled. I could see that there was no muscle mass left in his fingers. I would have expected to find a hand like that on an old withered man not my Russian God, not Dimitri.

"I told her to stop." He said knowing my thinking.

"You shouldn't have. You're no use to anyone whilst you can't work it properly."

He sighed and changed the topic of the conversation. "Eddie looked serious."

"Spokane changed him." I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat.

Before Spokane he'd been as light hearted as Mason, ready to joke and was almost as brash as Adrian at times. But after he'd changed and become serious knowing the real dangers of the world. Knowing just how dangerous strigoi are. He still joked sometimes but the quips were less frequent on his lips and he didn't smile as much. He'd changed. We'd all changed.

I got up and pulled my backpack into the tent. We'd been given them at the same time as the tents. We were going to spend the night camping out, getting used to our equipment. We had camp stoves, LED lights and a few other bits and pieces of equipment. I already had previous experience with it but I didn't protest the guardian's orders. I knew that having flashbacks was likely and I needed to overcome them in case this happened out there when I was guarding Lissa. I couldn't afford to slip out there so the sooner I got used to it the better.

Seeing I wasn't going to say anything else for whatever reason Dimitri left. And Eddie came in.

"Are you alright."

"Fine." I said thickly more upset about the memories of Spokane than seeing Dimitri. I looked up at him and once again saw his glazed eyes and slack body. I flinched.

Eddie looked as upset as I did and we both just sat there for a moment reflecting on our individual memories of Mason. I mostly felt guilty and at the same time realised Eddie didn't know what had happened between Mason and me. Nor did anyone else, perhaps not even Dimitri, I couldn't remember if I had told him. I figured at some point I probably had seeing as how I generally told him everything. At least I used to.

"What's this a pity party?" Christian asked rousing me from my thoughts. We hadn't even heard him turn up.

"I suppose you whished you had brought hats." I mumbled.

"It's six moths today." Eddie whispered.

Christian and I looked at him not even needing to ask what he meant.

"I was going to ask him to be my guardian." Christian said after a moment. "He was good."

Wow an emotional Christian! Let me know what you think and I'll read all those reviews (if I get any) when I get back on the 31st of August. And I promose I'll update as soon as I've read reviews and stuff. I'll be back at soem point in the British evening, look forward to then!

Purple Pulse - good look with the withdrawel symptoms! :D

Richelle Mead owns VA and I'm incredbly jealous!