FANGIRLING SO HARD RIGHT NOW! They've announced who is playing Kirova (who is, by the way, 34 and pretty :3) in Blood Sisters, and Richelle says they're saying who's playing Christian soon! And that they have most of the cast ready! They start filming it THIS MONTH! In the UK! I knew that someday something would make me declare my love for my country to hundreds of foreign strangers!
I may have to pay a visit to the place they end up filming it- Dimitri on English soil? I cannot miss this!

*Deep breath* I'm okay now. I think. On with the update. This is the second-to-last chapter.

I DON'T OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY. IT BELONGS TO RICHELLE MEAD.

I turned around.

"Sydney?" I asked, squinting at the figure walking towards us against the light of the rising sun.

Sure enough, towards us came a petite blonde with amber eyes and a golden lily tattoo. Relief washed through me that she really was okay- the phone call I had received had been stressful, and I had been wondering how she was. I doubted the Alchemists would be very lenient on those that supported vampire 'murderers', even if they did later prove innocent.

Not caring whether she'd mind or not, I hugged her. To my surprise, she hugged me back.
"When did you get here?" I asked incredulously.

"Earlier today, just before lunch." She replied.
She must hate being at Court, surrounded by all us 'evil creatures of the night', but here she was, right in front of me.
I stepped back, my gaze momentarily returning to Adrian, ready to introduce him to Sydney.

But there was no need. Adrian was already smiling at her, something in his eyes I couldn't quite place. Looking back at Sydney, she was gazing back at him, and when she saw me looking, a light blush spread over her cheeks.

Facts and clues slammed together in my mind, fitting together to form one crazy but completely unmistakable picture.
I arrived today. This guy was in bad shape- he begged me not to leave, 'not like her'. He's had a really tough time, and for a Royal Moroi, he isn't like the rest. She's with me now.

No way.

I was pretty sure my eyes bugged out of my head as I realised it, which must have tipped of Sydney and Adrian that I knew, as they moved a little closer together.

I stood blinking for a few seconds, reeling in shock and disbelief. It was while until I remembered how to speak. Words.

"WHAT?" Was my eloquent first reaction. Followed by a whole load of expletives that made Sydney cringe and even Adrian look away.

Once my outburst was over and I could think semi-coherently, I turned my attention and wrath to the Moroi standing in front of me.

"Adrian! Do you know how crazy this is? This is Sydney we're talking about! Alchemist, poster child for good girl Sydney!" I screeched, arms flailing as I gestured wildly.

When he leaned away from me, stepping closer to the human, I turned my attention to her.

"And Sydney, when I said go for it, I didn't know that the 'Royal Moroi' was Adrian! I'd never have said yes to that! He'll corrupt you! What will happen if the Alchemists find out? I thought I was the crazy one! You're so different- you're all pure and sensible and calm and clever and he's so crazy and scattered and arty and..."

I trailed off, thinking over what I'd just said. The rage inside me died down as I took a deep breath, forcing myself to look at this as their friend, someone who had experience in forbidden relationships, and not as their mother. "And you're so perfect for each other!"

Their faces, which had started off as scared and defiant, morphed into shock and confusion, which was amplified as I grabbed them both and dragged them into a group hug.

"I'm so happy for you both! This is so perfect!" I shouted, absolutely elated. Who cares if people say this is wrong? If Adrian is finally happy, I'm happy. And if Sydney feels comfortable with this, even if years of taboo has been drilled into me making me feel a little creeped out, then I'll try to move past that. For them. After all, I knew better than most that sometimes the rules of our society were made to be broken. They didn't always come first, so maybe human/vampire pairings didn't have to be wrong.

When I finally let go, Adrian was the first to regain his composure.
"Thanks, Rose. I'm glad you didn't feel the need to kill me."

I dropped the smile and glared.
"That could still happen. If you hurt her, you will wake up to find your man-parts missing from your body, and look out the window to see them nailed to a tree in the middle of Court with a flashing neon sign showing your name above them." I growled.

He looked a little scared. "Don't worry, no intention of that happening." He paused for a moment. "Did you learn your threats from your dad, or are they just inherited? Because he threatened me with something surprisingly similar."

I grinned, pleased that we could slip back into our old teasing roles so easily. "Just runs in the family. But unlike Abe, I can kick your ass as well as breaking your kneecaps and chopping your balls off."

By the end of the day, everyone in our group knew about Sydney and Adrian. Though they didn't know Sydney personally, I assured them that they really were perfect for each other.

I was a little surprised at which the ease they accepted the pair, or at least how well they hid their discomfort. I had to admit, it had shaken me pretty bad when we first met the Keepers. Though somehow, this wasn't as bad. Maybe because they were my friends, or there were no others outside the relationship, or because I knew there would be no sordid activities. No, Sydney would never be Adrian's blood whore or feeder, that was for sure. What they had was love, and who had the right to stand in teh way of that? Certainly not me. I would support them as they had supported me. That was what friends did.

But now they were together at Court, the secret wouldn't stay between our group for long, and when the truth came out, it wouldn't be pretty. Mia predicted that it would take rumours of 'Sydrian' about 3 days to circulate Court, and by the end of the month, the scandal would be all anyone talked about.
I had to say I agreed with her, but being no stranger to gossip myself- on both ends- I knew it would all die down pretty soon. Moroi loved to talk, but that meant that news got stale quickly. There was always some new scandal, some other poor person the subject of the whispers that seem to come from everywhere.

Sydney was concerned about what Adrian's family would think, especially his father. Since he was high in Moroi society, he had a lot of influence, and could get Sydney shipped back to the Alchemists in a heartbeat, landing her in 're-education', whatever that was. I didn't like the sound of it, personally. School was bad enough the first time around, and I was pretty sure the Alchemist version would be a hell of a lot worse.

But as Sydney voiced her fears, Adrian took her hand and pulled her to him, promising that he would never let it come to that.

"I'll never let them take you, Sage. They'll have to come through me first, and I won't go down without a fight."

I stood up, moving to stand on Sydney's other side.
"And me. Nobody screws with my friends without taking on me personally. You helped me escape the authorities- I'd do the same for you. Both of you. Whatever you need, I'll do everything within my power to get. And if that's not good enough, I'll call in a favour with the old man."

Sydney shivered as the mention of a favour to Abe. What was that about?

My inner musing was interrupted when Dimitri spoke.
"I'm on your side too. I still owe you both for saving me and Rose, you have my support with this."

"And ours." Added Eddie. "All of us will fight for you."

There was a general murmur of agreement around the room. It was too much of a sweet moment for me to pass us the opportunity to ruin it.

"Alright, alright. Enough with the mushy stuff already. If we keep on like this, we'll be 'fighting' the rumours with Sydrian candy and throwing flowers at Strigoi! People might hear us and think we're going soft."

The moment ruined, everyone rolled their eyes and began to stand up.

"Right, well, I'm going home. This emotional stuff is all a bit much for me." Christian grumbled, pushing Lissa gently towards the door.

"Yeah, let's bail." I tugged on Dimitri's sleeve, pulling him out of the room. "S'laters people!"

We walked back to the Palace hand in hand, in no rush to get there. Lissa and Christian had practically run back there, so no doubt what they were doing right now.

We remained in a companionable silence most of the way back, each of us content just to be in the others company.

The silence was broken by a quiet laugh beside me.

"What?" I asked suspiciously, giving Dimitri a sidelong glance.

He shook his head. "Adrian and Sydney. It's just..."

"Crazy." I finished for him.

"Exactly. I mean, who saw that one coming?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeva. I bet this is the 'surprise' she was talking about."

Dimitri turned to me, smiling. "Or just one of many."

"There are more? Great, at this rate I'll be grey by the time I'm 30." Then I smirked. "But you'll be nearly 40 by then anyway, Grandpa."

Dimitri made a face, before looking up at the sky with a smirk. "You can't even drink for another 3 years."

I snorted. "Please, who even cares? I've been drinking since I was 13 anyway."

He apparently didn't have a comeback to that, and we had almost reached the Palace by now. Just before we got there, Dimitri pulled me aside. He looked down at me, expression soft.

"I'm so glad you don't have to hurt over Adrian anymore. I know how guilty you felt, but you did the right thing. If you hadn't ended it with him, then he would never have met Sydney and become the man he is today."

I raised my eyebrows. "And I wouldn't be with you."

He half-smiled. "Minor detail." After seeing the look on my face, he laughed and pulled me close. "I love you Roza, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. And I'm so proud of you."

I pressed my face against his chest. "I love you too. Thanks for putting up with me."

Dimitri sighed. "It's a hard job, but someone's got to do it."

"I'm glad that one is you." I replied as Dimitri stroked my hair.

"So am I Roza. So am I."

Okay, one chapter left. Please help me reach 100 reviews for this story before it's over.

By the way- I thought it wasn't possible for Danila to look any hotter. But his hair has grown. And he does.

Review and Dimitri will fight for you :D