Last time I had left court, we had used Lissa's money to fund the brunt of the trip. Adrian's credit cards had gotten us a room in the hotel. This time, Lissa wasn't around, which was just as well because I couldn't ask her to borrow money if I didn't tell her why I wanted it. Not to mention, if Lissa was here, she would try everything in her power to make sure that I didn't leave. But Lissa wasn't here, and neither was Adrian. I wasn't sure how I was going to pull it off. Christian offered to front the money, but that made me feel guilty. He was my friend and all, but I couldn't foresee taking money from him, when I wasn't entirely sure of his financial situation. He was a royal, yes, but he had mentioned that Damon Tarus had been siphoning money from his account while he had control of the Ozera's money.

I decided I would fund this myself. If I was going to be brought up on charges of contempt, I wasn't going to let anybody else feel responsible for my behavior. There were people within the court, I knew, who managed affairs that high society moroi would consider despicable. I was going to have to find a pawn broker and make a pitch. The only problem was, what did I have that was of any value?

I thought of all the stuff in my room. What did I have to my name? Clothes. Shoes. A book or two left over from the Academy. The furnishings of the room, which were technically not even mine. I had nothing. In desperate need of some inspiration, I looked around Lissa's room. I had no intentions of stealing from Lissa, but it didn't hurt to look for some sort of similarities between her stuff and mine. But Lissa's stuff and my own things were very similar. Lissa only had to offer the same things that I did: clothes, shoes, jewelry. I lit up upon thinking of jewelry, but then realized I really didn't have any.

All of the jewelry that Dimitri had stolen for me I had left in Russia, back in the outskirts of Novosibirsk in the grand place where Dimitri had held me captive. The only other thing I had was the nazar around my neck. I looked down at it, saw it gleam. The necklace could hardly be worth anything. The sentimental value of it was much greater than the monetary value. Still, it was all that I had to offer…

I closed my eyes, steeling the strength to do what I was about to. I wondered how my mother would feel if she knew what I was going to do. Abe had given her this, to protect her. She had given it to me. It had been in our hands for at least eighteen years, and I was going to pawn it for money to get to Detroit. I thought inexplicably of Dimitri, knowing he would be disappointed if he knew what I was up to.

I reached up to the back of my neck and felt for the clasp of my necklace. I fumbled with it for a moment, and then the chain gave way. As it fell to the ground I was reminded of the dream I'd had yesterday, of Dimitri as a strigoi biting my necklace and replacing it with…

My body froze as I came to a revelation. The necklace that Victor had left me was still in Lissa's room. I'd thrown it at the door yesterday after Dimitri left me feeling all strung-out. The necklace was ornate, and fabulous. Victor had certainly paid a small fortune for it. Of course, with a pawn broker I would be lucky to get a quarter of what the necklace was actually worth, but I didn't want the damn thing anyway.

I reached under the dresser, feeling around blindly until my hand closed over the cool metal. I brought it out and examined it, recalling how I had seen it at the mall. The memories of that day came back to me. I had been getting some real experience as a guardian at the mall with Lissa and Dimitri. Lissa had been the one to point the necklace out to me. But I hadn't been much interested. Rose's weren't really my thing. The price had been what deterred Lissa from pulling out her cards again. Yet, as we were leaving, Victor had doubled back and bought it.

I recalled the price tag with a fond smile. The necklace should definitely go a long way in covering the price of a flight to Detroit. I slipped the necklace into my pocket as I headed out the door. I flung the door open and hurried out into the hall, running right into somebody. I cursed, irritated, and looked up to see who it was. I cursed again. Dimitri.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded, rubbing my forehead. I had pretty much walked right under him; His chin caught the top of my head. And of course, it hadn't fazed him. I wondered briefly what it took to physically hurt him. But I really didn't want to know, unless of course, I was the one beating him up. I sure as hell was feeling like it.

"I was checking on you." His voice was low, like he hadn't wanted to admit that. I fixed him with the most apathetic look I could manage.

"I'm fine." I lied. Truth be told, I was feeling just about every emotion in the world. Happy to be doing something. Sad about Mia. Angry at Dimitri. In love with Dimitri. Anxious to get money. Worried about how Christian and I were going to get out of the court. Scared Dimitri would find out and stop me. I think there should be a limit on how many things a person can feel at once.

Dimitri didn't believe me. I knew him better than anybody else, and I could tell that, even though he kept his face impassive, he wanted to call me on my fallacy. As well as I knew him, he knew me. I hoped I was a good enough liar to keep my intentions from him. He would talk me down from doing something irrational, I was sure of it. "The guardians are in a frenzy."

"Hmm." I nodded. That was to be expected. Who would have believed that Damon would have turned?

"Tasha is taking care of the situation. She was worried about you."

"That's nice of her." I said dismissively. But his words sparked a question in my mind. "What was she doing there, anyways?"

"She had an appointment with Damon."

"Why was she meeting with Damon?" I asked, suspicious.

Dimitri recognized the distrust in my voice. "She is a grown woman. Her matters are her own business."

I looked at him closely, and I could see that there was something he wasn't telling me. I could ask him, but he wouldn't say. I would have to goad him into it. "Well, it just sounds suspicious. Damon turned strigoi, and Tasha had plans to meet him?"

"Don't go there, Rose." Dimitri warned. I felt a little stab of jealousy at that. He was defending her. Now, I really like Tasha. She is kind, and beautiful and clever. But where it concerns Dimitri, I have always felt a tiny bit of animosity toward her. I wish I could make it go away, but it's something you can't just bury and walk away from. I didn't believe Tasha would have any shady deals going on with Damon, of course. She was much too great a person for that. But if I wanted the information that I knew Dimitri had, and concealed, then I would have to make him say something. Of course, I didn't like the defensive tone of voice he was using, but that came with the territory.

"I didn't say anything." My tone was haughty, but I wasn't going to adjust it for him.

"I trust Tasha with my life. She wouldn't be involved in anything like that."

I smiled. "I never said she was. I just thought it was odd. Unless she has some kind of ongoing battle with the law, I don't see why she'd be meeting with Damon." I let my mouth form an O, as though I were just realizing something. "Were they intimate?"

Dimitri knew I was baiting him, and he was frustrated with me. "Rose…"

"It's ok, you don't have to say if she was. I certainly wouldn't want to be with somebody who turned stigoi."

Dimitri's face showed only the slightest sign of inflection. He had been strigoi, but he knew that was not what I meant. Damon had turned himself. "They weren't involved. Tasha was meeting with him to discuss you."

That caught me by surprise. I blinked in astonishment. "What?"

"She was helping him compose the time-line for the queen's murder."

"Damon wasn't my attorney." I argued. Dimitri nodded.

"Tasha asked him for his help. Like I said, she's worried about you." Now I felt like a horrible person. How could I feel any animosity for someone who was willing to go out of her way to try to prove I didn't commit a murder?

"She doesn't need to worry." I said quietly. Guilt washed through me, taking precedence over my emotions. I felt like I should apologize to her. But I hadn't said those things to her. I'd said bad things about her to Dimitri, and I sure as hell wasn't going to apologize to Dimitri.

"Try telling her that. She is beating herself up about this, Rose. She was near hysterics when I left her."

"It wasn't her fault." I murmured.

"She was late to her appointment. She thinks that if she was on time, this wouldn't have happened."

"It would have been her, instead of Mia." I said. It was funny, cause Dimitri had said the same thing of me. I prayed he wouldn't notice that.

"Either way, she was inconsolable."

"You should have stayed with her." It killed me to admit that, but I was fine. I was going to be OK. If Tasha was swimming in her own tears, I think she needed to have somebody around who could help make her feel a little better. Dimitri looked surprised that I had said that.

"Tasha wanted me to see you. I'm sure Christian will visit her."

"Well, as you can see, I am great." I squirmed under his gaze.

"Where are you going?" He inquired.

"I didn't know I had to report to you every time I left Lissa's room." My voice carried the abrasiveness of sandpaper. Dimitri did not seem phased by it.

"You don't have to. I just wondered."

"Well, not that it's any of your business, but I need to go grab a few things from my room."

"I'll walk you." He suggested. I scowled at him.

"I don't need a guardian. I'm not going to kill anybody."

"Of course not." He agreed, in all seriousness. His face was closed-off. I pursed my lips together, waiting for him to take his leave. But he only looked at me. "Be careful." A raise of the eyebrows and a widening of the eyes assured him that had been a ridiculous thing to say. I turned and walked off, leaving him with nothing else.

I knew that I would find a pawn shop just by walking around. I went to the area that housed the court's spa and began to explore. Since the sun was out, practically everyone was asleep, so I had no fear of being questioned about why I wasn't guarding Lissa. I walked down the flower-lined dirt path that led through the shops, and found one that looked promising. It was a book store, but the sign declared it was open. I don't know why any reputable book store would be open in the dead of night.

I entered the shop to a blast of cold air. A bell above the door announced my arrival. The room was dark, lit only by the light coming in from outside. I looked around, deciding this really wasn't a reputable book retailer. There were tables in place of bookshelves, with cardboard boxes on them filled with books. I had definitely come to the right place.

A little old man came into the light. He was a moroi, although he wasn't very tall. His back was hunched over, and he supported his weight on a big heavy cane. I smiled at him, because he honestly looked kind of sweet. He came toward me, returning my smile. "What can I do for you?"

"I don't know if I'm in the wrong spot." I said, reaching for my pocket. "I was hoping to liquidate an asset?"

The man's eyes flashed in recognition, and his smile widened. "Oh, you've certainly come to the right place. What have you got?"

I unfurled my fist, exposing to him the heavily decorated necklace in my hand. He stared at it for a moment, wordless, then looked at me. "Did you steal this?"

I laughed. "It was a gift."

"A gift? Such a nice gift…" He muttered, with a shake of his grey head. "May I?"

I dropped the pendant in his hands, glad to be rid of it. He moved to the side, holding it up to what little light the musty shop had to offer. "This is exquisite." He seemed to be talking to himself, so I simply smiled. He moved slowly towards a desk in the back, reaching into a drawer. He withdrew a little eyeglass and examined the pendant. "You're sure you want to part with this? It was a gift, after all."

"I don't want it. It came from an ex-boyfriend." I lied. The man looked up at me with a crooked grin. He laughed, and it was such a jolly sound, I couldn't help but feel guilty about that unnecessary lie.

"Well, it's no wonder then." He ran a finger over the diamonds. "What do you think you could get from this?"

His question took me by surprise. I hadn't really been prepared to tell him what I thought it was worth. "I know that he paid a lot."

The man smiled. "You have here 2 carats of diamonds, and 18 carats of gold. I could give you…" He paused to think. I knew very little about jewelry. I could only hope that was good by a jeweler's standards. "Oh, about three thousand? Does that sound fair?"

I tried not to appear as star-struck as I felt. That would definitely get us to Detroit and back. "That sounds great." I smiled.

I almost thought he was joking. He seemed like nothing I would have imagined of a pawn broker, and I could recall the price tag. I'd expected about ¼ of what Victor had paid. This was much better than I had thought it to be. But the man wasn't joking. He graciously handed me the money, and I walked out of there three thousand dollars richer, and a big burden lighter.

a/n: oh, goodness. already twenty one chapters in, are we? if you have stuck with it this far, then you are wonderful. I appreciate all of your work in reviewing, because it makes me write more, quicker. chapter twenty two is the longest one yet, and i enjoyed writing it, so i'm looking forward to seeing your thoughts on this chapter before i go ahead and post the next. let me know what you think :) love, belle.