So here is Chapter 24. I will warn you now, this is a chapter that includes the funeral of Mason. Keep the tissue handy. I intended to make you all cry. I had a few friends cry when they read it so yeah. I wanted to keep this book going a little longer so this is what you get.

My playlist for this was tears in heaven, stairway to heaven and I'll be missing you. So enjoy and review.

Chapter 24-

Days past and nothing changed with Rose. She had to stay in the clinic for a few days along with the others involved in the incident. Eventually Eddie came out of his catatonic state of Strigoi bite high and was released. Mia and Christian only had to stay overnight to make sure they got enough blood back in their system and then they were released. Rose, however, just stared at the wall and did nothing. "Just give her time," they all said. "She has been through a lot. Her mind needs time to catch up with the situation." I had a hard time watching her slip further into oblivion. Eddie and Lissa came to visit her daily like it was their new religion. They both were worried that Rose would never make it out of this. I was beginning to wonder if we should start and "I'm worried about Roses sanity" club.

We had been back at the academy for almost a week when Rose had another break. Eddie, Lissa and I had just come in for a visit when she looked over at us tears streaming down her cheeks. It was the first time since we had been back that she looked away from the wall or even showed any emotion. We all jumped out of our seats and ran over to the bed. "Mason is dead," she whispered. Rose cried for hours and we just held her. She needed to let it out. It was part of the healing that she needed. After the tears stopped Lissa crawled in bed next to her and cuddled into her. She stroked her hair and wiped the tears away from her cheeks. "Rose, I'm so sorry this happened to you. I wish I could make this better too. I wish I could use my magic to heal your heart." Rose shook her head. "No Liss, this is what I disserve. It's my fault all of this happened. It's m fault that Mase is dead. I killed him." She turned her head back to the wall and my heart sunk again. I thought we were losing her again. After a few minutes she turned back to me. Her eyes were so full of sorrow and regret. Part of me was happy that she was at least showing some sort of emotion, but the other part of me broke seeing the pain she was in that I knew nobody could take away. "I'm so sorry Dimitri." A tear slipped out of the corner of her eye and I quickly wiped it away. "We don't need to talk about this now. You need to concentrate on getting out of here. I'm sure you would rather be in your own bed right now." She gave me a sad smile and nodded. "I'm going to go get the doc. I'll give you guys some time to talk," I told her heading out the door. Before I stepped out I saw her look over at Eddie. He was so guilt stricken since he came to he was almost unrecognizable. He blamed himself for everything as well. If he had been stronger then maybe Mason would be alive. If he had been a better fighter then maybe they wouldn't have been taken in the first place. If he had just told Mason no, then none of this would have happened. These kids had a long road ahead of them before they would even begin to heal.

As I was walking towards Dr. Olendzki's office I saw Tasha walk in. She gave me a small smile as I walked up to her. "I thought I would find you here," she said. I nodded and gave her a hug. "It's really good to see you," I told her. Tasha sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "How is she?"

"She is actually coming around. She just cried for the last two hours and started talking a little, but she still has a long road ahead of her. I can't stand seeing her like this. She's not my Rose anymore. She's in so much pain and I can't even comfort her."

Tasha sat down next to me. "Dimitri, she just needs time. Luckily she has time. She isn't in the real world yet and she has a lot of love here. She will get over this, eventually."

I nodded and took a deep breath. "Did you want to see her?" Tasha looked at me and nodded. "I do, but I think I will wait till later. I wanted to thank her for protecting Christian and keeping him alive. He told me everything. She is going to be an amazing guardian and she has you to thank for it. I also wanted to thank you for bringing him home safe. I should never have doubted your promise." Tasha looked up into my eyes. They were so sad and I knew I had cause part of that sadness. "Dimitri, just promise me that you will take care of her. I know she will take care of you. I can tell she already is, even if neither of you know it yet." I couldn't say anything. I was so taken back by her words. How is she so damn perceptive? She leaned over and kissed my cheek. "Goodbye Dimitri." Then she left, her words lingering in the air around me. "Goodbye Dimitri." She wasn't going to fight for me. She was letting me go and be happy with the women I loved. I felt like crying. I had never broken a heart before that I was aware of at least. And it felt horrible. Tasha was a wonderful women and I hated that I was doing this to her, but I loved her even more for being such a good friend to just walk away. I watched as she left the building hoping that this wouldn't be the last time I saw her.

I sat in the hall for a few more minutes getting myself back in order. Taking deep breaths and letting my thoughts vanish. It was time to spring Rose from this place and start getting her life back in order. I got up and walked to the Docs office. "Rose is talking," I informed her. Dr. Olendzki looked up from her charts and smiled. "Well then, why don't we go and see how she is doing." I stepped aside letting her out the door. She walked quickly down the hall and paused in front of the door. Looking back at me she gave me a smile. "You have trained her to be strong, but no matter the training she has had, this will probably get worse before it gets better. I just want you to be aware and keep a close eye on her, just in case." I nodded and she opened the door.

Rose, Eddie and Lissa were all cuddled up on the bed crying. I looked over at them and then back to Dr. Olendzki. She smiled and walked over. "Well, Rose. It is good to see you back. Are you ready to get out of here?" Rose looked up and nodded. "Well, I think you are okay to go back to your room and classes can be resumed on Monday, but I don't want you in your combat classes for another couple of weeks. Let's give you a little more time to recover." She smiled down and Rose. "I want to see you back in on Tuesday, but for now why don't you go with your friends. I'm sure you have a lot to talk about." Rose gave a sad smile that broke my heart and sat up.

Eddie and I walked out of the room to give her a little privacy. "Guardian Belikov?" I looked over at a sad Eddie. "I just wanted to say I am sorry, for everything." He looked down at the floor and I could tell he was fighting the tears. "Castile, what happened was no one's fault. Bad choices were made by a lot of people and the end result was unfortunate, but no one is to blame. You are a strong fighter and I know that this will make you even stronger. But you also need to take the time to heal. And healing sometimes requires tears to shed. No one will think you are week for doing so. It takes a strong man to show his emotions." He nodded and looked back up at me. Tears were in his eyes and he was no longer holding them back. "It's not fare. I should have died, not Mase. I should have been stronger. Maybe if I was he would still be here."

"You're right, it's not fare, but if you had died and not Mason, would you have wanted him to wish it was him?" He shook his head. "No, I would have wanted him to go on and be happy again."

"Exactly. So, you need to try and make him happy. Live the way he would have wanted you to. I know it's easier said than done, but one day you will find it's not so hard." Eddie wiped away his tears and nodded again. "Thank you."

"Anytime, I'm always here."

The door to Rose's room opened and she stopped out. I could tell every step she took was hard. She had taken quite a beating and it would take time for her to completely heal, but she was strong and I knew she would, both mentally and physically.

A few days later was Masons Memorial. It was held in the schools chapel and everyone attended. There was not even standing room. Rose, Christian, Mia, Eddie and Masons parents sat in the front row. Rose was holding onto Eddies hand for dear life and her other hand held on to Mrs. Castiles. Mia held onto Christians hand and she linked her arm through eddies free hand. They were each other life line I realized. Without each other they would not really make it through this. I stood next to the wall closest to them so I could keep an eye on them. Today was going to be one of the hardest days and I wanted to be close in case they needed me.

Soon the lights went down and "I'll be missing you" by Puff Daddy and Faith Evens began playing. Pictures of Mason growing up flashed on a screen. From the time he was a baby to just a few days before he died. The last picture was of him and Rose at the ski resort. He was looking over at her with so much love and smiling. She was smiling at the camera and laughing. Both of them were holding onto their skis after their stupid stunt. Rose had tears flowing freely. Her shoulders shook and her head went down. Mia, Christian and Eddie all cried as well. Mrs. Castile stared at her son's pictures and smiled with tears flowing down her face. I looked around the room to see the pain and loss. Mason was one of the most loved novices we had and he would be forever missed by everyone.

The lights came back up and the preacher stepped up to the podium. "I was thinking about what I wanted to say about our dear friend Mason. His life cannot be summed up into just a few words. It is an impossibility. He gave eighteen years of his life to us. Shared his hopes, dreams, laughter and tears and so recently his blood. Mason sacrificed his life to save those he loved. He died with honor and his memory will live on with us. In the wind that blows and the rain that falls, he is there. He will be in the night sky watching over us as we continue on our journey. He will be in our hearts and in our minds. God will protect him now where we could not. He is safe and happy and warm. He wouldn't want us to cry for his loss, but be happy for the life he lived. He would want us to live on and continue on our path choosing the road that fits us best. I would now like to read a poem that I thought fitting

Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there, I did not die.

You see, Mason is everywhere. He may be gone in the physical form, but his spirit lived on in each of us."

Soft music started to play again and I realized it was "Stairway to Heaven." The priest walked down and made the sign of the cross put his hand on Mason's picture and stepped aside. Soon the Isle was filled with people going to pay their last respect. Tears flowed from every eye and you could hear the pain screaming out from the hearts of all who loved him. I noticed Rose didn't move. She sat in the pew sobbing softly into her hands. After everyone had said their final goodbyes Rose finally got up and slowly walked towards his picture. She kneeled down in front of it crying louder now. "I'm sorry Mase, I am so sorry. I wish I could go back and make it right. You disserved so much more than this. I am so sorry." A few people stopped to look back at her, but none judged her. All I saw was sadness for her. I walked over to her and kneeled down with her. I didn't say anything; I just wanted her to know I was there. A few moments later Lissa joined me followed by Mia then Eddie then Christian. They all held on to each other and I looked over them wishing I could comfort them. They were such a tight group of friends. After what seemed like hours the tears finally subsided and Rose placed her hand on Mason's picture. "I love you Mase. I won't forget. I promise." With that she got up and walked out of the chapel followed by her friends.

I sat there for a few more minutes thinking about life and how precious it was. How any day any of us could be gone from this world. I looked at the picture of Mason again. He was an amazing person and I knew Rose would keep her promise. She would never forget and she would love him forever as would I. Because of him, my Rose is still on this earth and I would have a second chance, but first I needed to help her heal.