Hey all! This Chapter is a little jumpy, but bear with me. :)

Disclaimer: I only own AJ, Natalia, Roza, Mason, and Elaine.


Rose's POV:

I watched as AJ soothed the skin on her daughter's hand. "Shhh... Don't cry."

Natalia snuggled into her. "I'm sorry."

AJ kissed the top of her head. "It's not your fault. Mommy shouldn't have gotten so mad at you."

I knelt down next to my granddaughter. "Can I see?"

Natalia shook her head feverishly. "No." She clung tighter to AJ tighter and started crying harder. "Mommy!"

"Shhh... Get some sleep honey."

Natalia nodded and curled up against AJ. Sleep taking her over quickly.

AJ looked up at me. "So, what do you want to know?"

"What was that?"

AJ smiled and wiped the hair out Natalia's eyes. "She is a Moroi."

"She looks like..."

"A Dhampir... I know."

Adrian sat down next to us. "How is that possible?"

AJ shrugged. "I had fully turned by the time she was born. I was so starved for blood; I would basically do their bidding." She paused. "I... All I can remember is the killing. The pride in his face..." She sniffled. "When she was born, I started to return to my normally charming self. I remembered what had happened and that was when they started beating me. One day, I was trying to breast feed Nat and she bit me. HARD. I thought it was normal so I ignored it, but she kept doing it and finally she broke the skin and started licking at the blood. I tried to keep it from Hugo and Berk because I knew they would try to hurt her. One day, when the beatings were really bad, I felt so angry I lunged and Berk and as we were fighting, a sudden calm clarity came over me. I looked and Nat had crawled into the room and was staring at me. That was when she had her first tantrum. I was terrified of her. That was when I told her that if she saw me fighting to stay away. She is drawn to it though and when trouble finds me, she finds me too." She smiled and kissed her little girl's head. "I wouldn't have her any other way though..."

"The fire..."

"I don't know about that. I mean she can control it. It is amazing to watch, but it hurts her so much. I mean PAIN. I can feel all of it. And as her mother, it is hard enough to see your kid hurting, but to feel it... That is a totally different level."

~*~*~*~*~*~*

Roza's POV:

I walked through the hallways of my dream. I did this every night looking for AJ. Every door in the hall was a dream I could enter. I took a deep breath and opened one of the doors. I gasped when I saw the little girl. "Natalia?"

She looked over at me and smiled. "Play?"

I smiled back. "I would love to play with you." I walked into the room and sat down next to her. "What are we playing?"

"Color."

"I see." I took a crayon and started drawing on the wall. "What are you drawing?"

"Daddy."

I looked over at her drawing and saw what appeared to be a man standing there with a whip."

"What is he doing?"

"Helping mommy."

"With what?"

"Be good."

My eyes widened. I didn't want to believe her. AJ would fight back. "Natalia, does daddy hurt mommy?"

She nodded. "Mommy was sick, but got better. Daddy wanted her sick again."

I frowned at her. "Is it scary?"

She shook her head. "No. She was bad."

"Mommy was bad?"

Natalia nodded. "She didn't listen."

"Do you really think that?"

"I have to."

I frowned at her. "Did your mommy ever talk about me?"

"Who are you?"

"I am Roza Ozera."

"Yes."

"What did she say?"

"She said she missed you. Then grandpa said you were dead and mommy would get said again. I tried to fix it, but couldn't."

"Fix what?"

"Her sadness."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Mason's POV:

I walked through the gardens hand in hand with Elaine. "So, it has been a couple of crazy days."

"I know."

I didn't know why I was nervous. We had been together for almost three years. "I was thinking the other day."

"Did you hurt yourself?"

I smiled. "No... But it did make me spend some money..."

Elaine stopped and looked at me. "What are you talking about?"

I took a deep breath and dropped to one knee. "Elaine Whitney Badica, I know I am not a royal, I know I have very little to offer, but I can offer you a long life with me, if you want one..." I pulled out a ring. "Please marry me."

She took the ring between her shaking fingers and gasped. "Are... are you sure this is what you want?"

I smiled at her. "Yes, I truly want this. Please say yes."

"YES!"

I stood up and kissed her. "I know I am not a royal... and your parents won't approve..."

She kissed me back "Shhh. I don't care what they think. I am an adult now and I love you."

"If we have kids..."

She pulled away. "If?"

I looked into her eyes... "Are you telling me? Have we... Are you?"

"I didn't know how you would react..."

"I am so happy. For you... For us... We have to go tell my father."

Elaine laughed. "You really are excited aren't you?"

I kissed her again. "You have no idea... Have you told your parents?"

"I haven't told anyone. I wanted you to be the first to know... It was supposed to be your birthday present, but after everything..."

I looked at the ground and then at my new fiancée. "I need you to do something for me."

"Anything..."

"While you are pregnant, stay away from my sister..."

Yeah, this was all kinda creepy and exciting. I am hoping that we will get to go to Baia next chapter. There is going to be some stuff going down....

See you soon!