AN: Hello Everyone! So I've gotten some people saying that they don't think anything has really progressed between Rose and Dimitri and I have others saying that they're happy that they're taking it slow and not jumping into anything because it's more realistic haha. There are different opinions and I respect them all, just wanted to let you know that over the next two or three chapters there will be progression, I promise. I did want to take Romitri's relationship slow and not jump into anything for a lot of reasons, but without giving too much away I have a few ideas planned so don't worry you'll get what you want. Anyway, thank you to everyone who reviewed on my last chapter, seeing the reviews never gets old :) Anyway, on with the story, enjoy!

RPOV

We had been talking for a little while and I still hadn't gotten around to asking Eddie what I really wanted to. It was quiet between us and I knew that this was my chance to bring it up.

"Eddie, how are you doing?" I asked, joining him on the bed.

He looked at me confused. "I'm fine, why?"

"No I mean, how are you really doing? I might be stepping over a line here but I know that when Mason died, you were affected the most."

Eddie's face darkened and sadness was evident in his eyes. He didn't say anything and I knew that there was no way he was going to open up to me unless I showed him that he could trust me. There was only one way I could get him to tell me. I had to open up to him first.

"I know what it's like to lose someone you love."

He wasn't looking me but he turned his head a little towards me.

"I lost my mum a few months ago. She was killed by strigoi and I was the one who found her."

I swallowed heavily convincing myself not to get worked up. Eddie looked at me this time so I continued.

"I blame myself for what happened to her. I just kept thinking that if I had been there for her she would still be alive. Finding her dead body tore me apart. I felt like everything inside of me shattered and I didn't think I would ever be okay again."

My voice was heavy with emotion and Eddie had moved closer to me, placing his hand on mine.

"When it kicked in that she was dead the pain that I felt was unbearable. It was as if someone was gripping my heart so tight to the point it was hurting. Losing her was the worst moment of my life."

I closed my eyes and tried to breathe evenly. Silence fell between us and I hoped that by putting myself out there, he would do the same.

"Mason wouldn't be dead if I had done what I had been trained to do," he whispered.

Opening my eyes, I turned to him holding his hand for comfort.

"He was the reason why Lissa and I were able to escape but I couldn't believe it when I was told that Mason was gone."

"Lissa told me that the strigoi fed from you," I said gently. "A bite like that isn't easy to fight through."

"It doesn't matter, I should have been stronger. I should have fought harder and maybe Mason would still be here with us."

I squeezed his hand, feeling guilty about where I was taking this.

"There were a lot of strigoi Eddie, you couldn't have taken them all on by yourself especially without a weapon."

He glared at the ground and the anger in him built up when I felt his hand tighten around mine. "I can still see Mason fighting off that strigoi. Anyone could see that Mason wasn't going to take him down."

Here goes nothing. You need answers Rose. "How many were there?"

"There were six of them."

That's a lot of strigoi working together. They usually didn't work in groups since they fought for dominance.

"Did any of the strigoi look familiar to you? Maybe they could have been someone that you knew and that's why they took you." I paused. "It happens sometimes," I added hastily, hoping he couldn't see through me.

He shook his head. "No I had no idea who they were. I don't even know their names except one of them when I heard his name being called by one of the other strigoi. His name was Isaiah, he seemed to be the leader."

Isaiah. Finally something that could help me. I had never heard of him but he shouldn't be too hard to find.

"How do you get through something like that Rose? How do you move on when someone close to you dies?"

I could see him pleading for a way out of the pain. If only it were that easy. Instead of answering him, I pulled him into a hug. His arms gripped me tightly and I empathised with him. Sometimes you just need the physical touch of someone to keep you together. I had gone straight to Adrian and Sydney when I had lost my mother. I knew that Eddie must not have had someone for him. Lissa had Christian and Eddie had kept all of it to himself. The guilt settled in and I couldn't help but feel ashamed at using him for answers. I had gotten something but I had exploited Eddie's kidnapping trauma to get what I wanted. Resting my head on his shoulder I promised myself that I would never do something like this to Eddie again. He deserved better.

We both pulled away. "Thanks for being here Rose."

I gave him a small smile. "Anytime, you don't have to go through anything on your own. Eddie you have me and I'll be here for you."

He returned the smile and I stood up. "I better let you get back to your homework. I'll see you at dinner."

He walked to the door and opened it for me. "Of course, I'll see you then."

I stepped outside but he grabbed my wrist, pulling me back. "Just so you know, I'm here for you too Rose."

I smiled at him. "Thanks Eddie."

The door shut behind me and I wondered if I would ever see him again after this mission was over.

"So have I exceeded your expectations of being a damn good student?"

I was back to training in the morning with Dimitri and despite enjoying his company and seeing him almost every day, these sessions weren't really doing anything for me.

"You have shown that you have a lot of skill," he said monotonously.

"Oh come on Comrade. I'm pretty amazing aren't I?"

Dimitri lifted an eyebrow at me but I could tell he was proud of how well I was doing during our training. "Yes Rose you have been doing great and you will be an amazing guardian one day."

I tried not to let my smile fall when he said those words. Sometimes he would talk about me being a guardian and graduating and it would be a reality check for me that being here was only for work. I wouldn't be graduating and I most definitely would not become a guardian.

"Dimitri why are you a guardian?"

He looked at me, my question throwing him off. "It was what I was born to be. Moroi come first and we as dhampir's have the responsibility of protecting them. It's about them and their safety."

His answer was what I expected. "What about what you want?"

"It doesn't matter what I want."

I had to admire his dedication. "You're a person too, you shouldn't throw away what you want for others. What you want does matter."

"Moroi come first Rose. They are the priority not our needs."

Being who I am sometimes reminded me of how lucky I was that I didn't live the normal life of a guardian. As the Dark One my purpose in life was something I felt proud of. I was able to kill strigoi and save the lives of others and at the same time, I was my own person. I wasn't governed by any rules that I had to follow even if I didn't want to. I didn't have to put aside what I wanted because I decided everything for myself. Dimitri didn't have that. No guardian had what I had and that made me pity them.

"You have spent your entire life preparing to die for moroi. You don't even belong to yourself Dimitri, you belong to them. Don't you want more? Don't you want something in life that is meaningful?"

He didn't say anything, he just stared at me with his guardian mask in place. I could see that my words were clearly affecting him.

"Dhampir's who train to become guardians do not have the luxury to live their lives as they want."

"And that doesn't bother you?"

"Like I said before, what I feel doesn't matter," he replied as his voice hardened.

"Is that what you're going to tell your children? That what they feel doesn't matter because the moroi come first?"

My words hit him hard. Emotions flashed in his eyes and I couldn't seem to make any of them out. I had hit a nerve.

"Training is over for today. I'll see you tomorrow." He was about to leave but I stopped him.

"Wait, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."

He stopped walking but he still hadn't turned around.

"It's just, how can you accept a life where you're unsure of when you're going to die for someone who might not even appreciate your sacrifice?"

Dimitri turned around but didn't walk any closer to me.

"I'm assigned to Vasilisa and while some royals take their guardians for granted, I know she wouldn't."

I had to agree with him on that one. "She wouldn't but how do you know that you'll die protecting her and not someone else? I'm not trying to disrespect what you do as a guardian and I know that's what it sounds like but dhampir's deserve more."

He sighed. "I know Rose. Every dhampir knows that but that's just how it works. We are the protectors and the moroi are an important race."

I stayed quiet and could feel his eyes on me.

"Is that what you're worried about?" he asked me. "Are you worried about dying for someone who doesn't appreciate you?"

"No." None of this applied to me but he didn't know that. "Most of the dhampir students won't survive a year after graduation. Look at Mason, he spent his whole life thinking the way you do and he wasted seventeen years of his life thinking it belonged to someone else and now he's dead. He's gone and he didn't get to live his life like a normal teenager. No dhampir student does."

Dimitri stared at me intensely while I continued. "If I ever have children, I wouldn't want them to live that kind of life. I wouldn't want my children preparing to have their lives taken from them."

I could feel anger building up in me and I didn't know where it came from. Maybe it was the burning passion I felt when it came to the inequality between dhampir's and moroi.

Dimitri walked over to me. "It's unfair but it's something we have to accept. You are here as a novice training to be a guardian. When you become a guardian, you will put a moroi's life before your own and protect them at all costs."

I shook my head slowly. "Everything you are telling me right now is what children are being taught. How can we as dhampir's let that happen?"

"Because guardians generally don't have children. The ones that do, ensure that their children understand the duty of a guardian," he stated simply.

"You don't want children?" He seemed like a fatherly type who would love to have a family. Especially when he told me that he was an uncle. Dimitri didn't answer my question.

"I'll see you tomorrow Rose."

With that he left the gym before I could say anything. I decided to leave as well so I could take a shower before breakfast. I wasn't sure if Dimitri was angry with me or not and honestly I don't think I would want to know. What I had said was the truth but in reality it was easy for me to call out all the flaws because I didn't live the way guardians do. They either have the choice to be a guardian or be shunned by the moroi society if they run off.

Their lives were decided for them the day they were born. It made me grateful that Abe and Janine had chosen to raise me themselves instead of sending me off to an academy, not that they could with me being what I am. Still, I was lucky enough to live freely. I was constantly being the Dark One but at least when I was, I still travelled, experienced things for the first time and met people that were good people. Like Eddie, Lissa, Christian and Dimitri. If it weren't for my missions I never would have met Sydney and Adrian.

I should be thankful for what I have. I might be stressed and overwhelmed but I was lucky. Speaking of being stressed, I really needed a shower to calm me down and clear my mind for the day. I reached my room and stripped my clothes off. My shower took a little longer than usual but I needed it. When I finished, I blow dried my hair and changed before leaving to go meet the others for breakfast. When I wasn't too far from the cafeteria, my phone buzzed in my pocket and a quick check let me know that Abe wanted me to meet him. I reluctantly turned around and went to his room.

"Do you have food?" I asked as soon as I walked in.

Abe pointed to the small kitchen area and I made my way over. "Why'd you want to meet so early?"

"I have something important to tell you." There was nothing in the kitchen except for a fruit bowl. I picked up an apple, it was better than nothing.

"What is it?"

"Queen Tatiana arrived at the academy this morning."

I almost dropped my apple. "What? Why?"

Abe straightened his tie in the mirror. "I'm not sure but she's going to want to talk to you."

"Do you think if I fake a heart attack she'll leave me alone?"

"I highly doubt it."

I hadn't spoken to Tatiana since the last time I had yelled at her. If she was here to get an apology from me it wasn't going to happen.

"Does Adrian know?"

"Yes, he'll be here in a moment." As soon as Abe said that there was a knock on the door. I went to answer it and sure enough Adrian walked in looking like he stepped out of a fashion magazine. His idea of a casual outfit was my idea of getting dressed up.

"Adrian, you know Tatiana better than anyone. How do I get her to leave me alone?"

"Good morning to you too Rose."

He walked past me and made himself comfortable on the couch.

"And she won't leave you alone, you're the Dark One. She's going to want to keep an eye on you now that she knows who you are."

I joined Adrian on the couch. "The last thing I want to deal with is her going off at me with all the mistakes I've made."

"We'll be here Rose," said Abe. "Besides, we don't really know why she's here, let's just see what happens. She'll be coming over any moment now."

Turned out to be twenty minutes until she made an appearance. I had been contemplating on leaving to get some food but I guess that would have to wait. The three of us stood up as she walked in, her guardians remaining outside.

She smiled at Adrian. "I'm so happy to see you."

Adrian stepped forward and embraced her. Seeing Tatiana showing affection was foreign to me. I didn't know someone like her was capable of having emotions. Her eyes shifted to me and her smile disappeared. I bowed my head slightly out of respect but that was all she was going to get. She didn't seem to mind as she walked over to a chair and sat down. The three of us sat back down and I waited for her to speak.

"Two students have gone missing since you've been here Rosemarie."

Apparently we were getting right into it.

"I expected more from you. There have been a numerous amount of stories of your successes and yet you haven't been living up to them with this assignment."

I balled my hand into fists. "Do I need to repeat everything that I said last time?"

"Not at all." Her eyes narrowed. "I remember everything quite clearly."

"What are you doing here? If you're here to give me a speech on how disappointing I am then you're wasting your time."

"I am here to tell you that you now have a deadline. You have two weeks to figure out who is behind the kidnappings and if you don't then I want you gone."

I shot up from my seat. "You expect me to have this solved in two weeks? At least give me a realistic deadline."

She clearly didn't appreciate my outburst. "I expected you to have sorted it out by now. You're taking a lot longer than necessary and I don't want to have to deal with another student being taken."

Abe spoke up, standing next to me. "Rose is the only person who can help. Without her, the guardians here can only do so much. She's not the one to blame here the academy is at fault here too. Rose did not create this problem she is trying to fix it."

At least Abe believed in me. I was glad that he was standing up for me. Adrian joined in.

"He's right. Rose has been working hard. She'll have this figured out Aunt, she always does."

Apparently Adrian was the only person who Tatiana would listen to.

"Fine, I'll give you a little longer but I will expect you to leave if you haven't gotten any closer to ending this mission."

"I will solve it," I responded harshly.

She left the room with Adrian since he wanted to speak with her. "Thanks for standing up for me."

"What kind of father would I be if I didn't? You should go, I know you're hungry."

I parted with Abe and hurried to the cafeteria. I wasn't feeling the best and all I wanted was food. That always solved everything.

AN: Does anyone else just love Eddie? He's my favourite character and he just seems so perfect. I swear I need an Eddie in my life! I'm sorry if the chapter isn't that great, I did do it in a rush :/ I'm really excited for the next chapter because I enjoyed writing it and hopefully you guys like it. It'll be up in about two days. Thank you for reading xoxo