2 weeks later.

The day of the funeral came. Lissa's scrapes and bruises healed well although she still had to wear the cast for the next four weeks. I had stuck by her side everyday, of course I still had to go to classes where we weren't together but I had talked to Dimitri and asked him to get permission from me to stay with Lissa until the funeral had passed. Lissa was different. She wasn't her normal cheery self, now she looked haunted. Every night she had a nightmare, well more like a memory.

She was in the car talking and laughing just as she had been. The car came and crashed. I saw everything that happened through her eyes. I saw my door being torn off and me being thrown out. I felt all her pain from seeing her parents and knowing they were dead. I felt her horror when she saw me and felt how desperate she was to have me with her. Everything in this dream was exactly the same as t was. All I felt was her pain, anger and sorrow from everything that she saw, but that all changed when she touched my cheek. There was a burning sensation inside her and then an explosion of emotions came bursting out. it was like a warm golden feeling inside her and moments later my eyes opened. She was so relieved but was too weak and she fealt so tired and not long afterwards, everything went black and I woke up back in my own head.

I had no way to explain it but I knew I couldn't tell her, at least until the funeral was over and we had time to ourselves.

A few days ago we were flown to the royal court for the funeral. Lissa and I had gone shopping for dresses for the funeral. Before she would have been so excited to go shopping and would buy the whole boutique but this time she picked up the first black dress and looked at it like it was a garbage bag, she didn't try it on, she just bought it and walked out leaving me alone to choose a dress.

The one I bought was a black dress with a square neck and three quarter length sleaves. It was tight at my waist and had a small flare. I wanted to dress suitably and not over dress but compared to Lissa's mine was screaming attention. Maybe that would be my job; to deflect some attention off Lissa who would be the focus of today.

I put on a pair or smaller heels and pinned my hair up into a low bun. When I saw Lissa I could truly see how broken she was. Her dress was black with cap sleaves and a ribbon that tied was tied in a cute bow behind her back. She looked like a fragile china doll. It was night, we stood in the royal cemetery where all respected royals were buried. We watched in silence as the priest said words and the coffins were lowered into the ground. The ceremony was only close family and friends of the Dragomir's or people who were formally invited by Lissa or the queen.

Natalie was there and so was a man I had never seen before. He looked old, really old. His eyes had a dark ring around them and he had bags under his eyes. His hair was grey and he was using a cane to walk around. I listened to the priest knowing Lissa would be too emotional to hear anything.

For the past couple of weeks I had the strange thing happen to me. I would be minding my own business and then suddenly I found myself transported into Lissa. I felt like I was her. I could feel her thoughts and feelings almost like they were my own. I couldn't understand why this was happening but I kept it to myself, Lissa didn't need another thing to worry about. The ceremony was nice and afterward we were back on the jet and heading back to the academy.

The moment Lissa's foot touched the gravel at the academy; we were confronted by headmistress kirova.

"Vasilissa, Rosemarie. Come with me please." Lissa and I exchanged a look but obeyed and followed her to her office. She sat down in her brown leather chair behind her desk and we sat in the black leather chairs across from her. for a moment it was silent before she opened up a drawer and pulled out a file.

"Vasilissa, before your parents died they made a change to their will. The will was sent here right after you went to court," she took out an envelope and handed it to Lissa. Lissa tore it open frantically and pulled out the folded sheet of paper.
"This is the exact same as the other will I saw," said Lissa looking confused.

"Not quite there is one change," she said and with her long painted nails she pointed to a sentence at the bottom of the paper.

"Vasilissa's guardian once graduated will be Rosemarie Hathaway," she read. I gasped. My mind reeled back to the conversation in the car, could they have added that to the will so quickly. I was going to be Lissa's guardian as I promised.

"One more thing princess-" I cut off Kirova.

"Princess?"

"Yes. As the last of her family Vasilissa is the only one left who can carry on the title which means she now the Dragomir princess." She said. I could feel Lissa's shock and stress. She was scared of her new title. Within 10 seconds a whole lot of pressure had just been placed on her shoulders and she was terrified that she would ruin her family's name and reputation.

"While at the academy while you are a princess you have to understand there will be no special privileges, you will be treated as every other academy student," said Kirova.

"I understand." Lissa was holding back the tears as she said those words and I felt horrible that there was nothing I could do to help. Once that was over we both stood and walked out. I grabbed her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. She gave me a small smile and I went back with her to her room. Remembering the dream I knew this would be a good time to tell her. As soon as the door was shut opened my mouth to start but was cut off.

"I have been having this dream," she said. "About the accident." I already knew what happened in the dream but I also knew she wanted to tell me about it. It was exactly the same, down to every detail. But there is a moment that I felt but in the dream I feel it more clearly it feels like-"

"A warm golden ray of light bursting out of your heart," I cut her off. She looked surprised. Her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open.

"You've been having the same dream?" she asked.

"Not exactly," she gave me a confused look and I knew I had to tell her everything. "Ever since the accident I have been having these weird experiences that feel like dreams but I know they aren't because I will be wide awake sometimes and hen mind myself in somewhere completely different to where I had just been. I can also see dreams but they aren't mine," I paused. "Their yours." She looked taken back but I continued knowing she needed to hear this. "I cant explain it but I feel like I get sucked into your head sometimes, I cant control when it happens it just happens sometimes and in those times I can see everything you see. Hear everything you hear and feel every emotion you feel. Its like I temporarily become you." she looked down at her hands and whispered something I could only slightly make out.

"It can't be."

"What?" I asked.

"It sounds like a bond." Now it was my turn to be confused.

"A what?"

"A bond. You would have heard about it even some Moroi don't know about them" she started. "A Bond hasn't been heard of in centauries, old stories say it is a psychic link between a guardian and their Moroi that helps them to know where they are and if they are in danger. Apparently all the best guardians had bonds with their Moroi." I thought t through and it sounded like a good idea. If I could control it, it would be a very useful tool to help keep her safe, only one part confused me.

"If they were so useful and common then why hasn't there been any bonds now?" I asked.

"Because the bond links two peoples minds together and people used that as a way to get to their bond mate. Being linked to someone and being able to feel everything they feel means you would also feel their pain and torture. When one bond mate was taken and killed it left the other without the other half that was in their mind. It made them go insane until they were no longer able to live." That made me scared. I was willing to give up my life for Lissa but hearing that my death could destroy her made me feel lost on what to do.

"Is there any way to get rid of the bond?" I asked.

"There is no documented way to break the bond, the only way we know of is death." I was afraid of that answer.

"We can't tell anyone were bonded," I said.

"What?" she asked.

"I said no one has to know. Think about it: if people know they have a way to get to you, if they don't know they have got no way. I will do anything to protect you but I wont let you put your self in danger because of me." I said.

"Wait Rose one more thing." She said.

"Yes?"

"I can't feel you like you can feel me. If anything happens to you I won't know. The bond is only one way." it took me a moment to realise what that meant.

"You can't feel me?" I asked. She shook her head.
"That's my problem. You can't feel me which means you'll be safer if anything ever happens to me and that is what matters."

"Rose please."

"No Liss. The only one of us who needs protecting is you. You are a princess and the last of your line. If you die so does hope for the Moroi and dhampir's who believe that the strigoi will loose. If they loose a family they loose hope. If anything ever happens to me please promise to put yourself first and move on." She hesitated looking scared but finally spoke the only worlds that I cared about.

"I promise."