The Last Scion

by savannah0707

Seventeen-year old Bellamy Pearce is a Dhampir. She also has Moroi magic-fire to be exact. The Guardian Council, along with her Guardian aunt have pushed her into training at St. Vladimir's. She is away from her friends, her home, and everything she knows. How is she ever going to survive six months of curious Guardians and students while hiding her closest secrets?

37. Chapter 37

Okay, this chapter took the longest for me to write and finish, only because it is probably the most extensive. I happily got to go back and reread through 'Shadow Kiss' in order to get the timeline correct, as it runs along with this chapter. I tied in a few of the pieces. I did not add everything, as you will see, but I think that I chose the most important pieces to help move the story to its end. And still, we are not done. One more chapter after this one to go, and once again if you think you know how it all ends, you will be surprised.

Instead of an epilogue after the final chapter, I am going to do something different. After I go back to finish Adrian's POV in 'Acts of Contrition', I am going to write maybe five or six single one-shots that tie up my loose ends for this story, and detail things that I missed or intentionally left out (including but not limited to the favor that Bellamy owes to Dimitri, a talk between Bridgette and Yuri, a wedding and other small things)

Enjoy this new chapter and as always, happy reading!

Chapter 37

BELLAMY

I had received my Promise mark, signifying that I was now forever sworn to protect Moroi (one specific Moroi, but all in general if the situation required me to protect more). I had also just gone through the painful process of receiving another tattoo. Jesse and I were the center of a small secret ceremony that consisted of his parents, the Academy Headmistress, a council Guardian, and a tattoo artist who often worked for the Zeklos family. I chose for the new tattoo to be drawn onto my wrist, inches above the raven tattoo I already had, the tattoo I got after my break-up with Mason.

"You have a tattoo?" Jesse saw the midnight blue raven now visible. He lifted an eyebrow with that condescending smirk of his. I didn't answer him.

I now wore the Zeklos Guardian tattoo. The design was the family crest, and it was embedded with magic, the ink specifically formulated and in tune with me and Jesse. After receiving the new mark, Jesse used his own magic, his palm and fingers placed firmly around my wrist, using his fire magic to seal the bond we would keep for life.

Once the ceremony was finished, we were sent away. Jesse was late for his second class of the night. He'd missed the first completely thanks to the process we went through. We were not supposed to talk about the ceremony or our link to anyone, so I hoped that Jesse would follow that rule. I however had someone in my friendship pocket who had the same tattoo. I didn't have to say a word. He already knew. So, it was all I wanted to talk about with him. Well, almost all I wanted to talk about. There were a few other unanswered questions that had been running through my mind as I'd stood, swearing my life and emotions to Jesse's. Really they were questions I'd had as soon as I returned to Court, and the Council had promoted me, but recently they'd resurfaced.

"What do you mean it didn't hurt you?" Dimitri questioned quietly as we scaled the stairwells together.

I had left Jesse asleep in his dorm room, checking, double checking, and even triple checking to be sure he was truly asleep, as curfew was well underway. I was now ready to get a few hours of sleep myself. I made sure the other Guardians on duty would contact me immediately if Jesse did anything out of line or out of the ordinary. They too were well aware and well versed with Jesse's unruly and troublesome behavior. He would not be sneaking out or pulling any tricks tonight or tomorrow.

"I mean it didn't hurt. The tattoo part obviously hurt, but the whole fire sealing was perfectly painless. That's not normal, is it?" I repeated the most bothersome problem I had with the ceremony to Dimitri. "Being a fire user myself, I know that fire burns. It hurts."

He got that deep contemplative expression I both liked and loathed. His brow furrowed and his eyes darkened. He had so much on his mind these days, and I was not making it easier. I had just added more to his supercharged brain. And for all of the ability he had to compartmentalize his problems, the problems of others, and all of his thoughts, I could see he was both fighting and losing some kind of deep inner battle with himself.

"What are you thinking Thor?"

He waited before giving me a response.

"When you and Christian Ozera trained, did you ever get hurt…by the fire?"

"Yes." I answered. "Tons. I still have the scars." I traced fingers over my left shoulder, along a thin line that had stayed with me. "Did yours hurt? Did Ivan use fire to…"

Dimitri lifted his eyes back to me, but he seemed to be drawn back to his own memories of his friend.

"It was somewhat painful, but not painless. Your situation is interesting Bellamy." He opened the door to the fourth floor. "Go get your rest Bellamy."

I peered down at my watch. "I can still get a few hours in before I have to meet Yuri. He has demanded that I show up to play pool. He wants to celebrate my becoming a Guardian to Jesse."

"And your birthday." Dimitri cryptically said, attempting to walk away.

The thing about Dimitri Belikov, Russian Guardian god, is that he is not as mysterious as he likes to let people think he is. He got away with it for awhile, until I realized that the subtle remarks or deep musings and other Zen-like comments often hid meaning.

"What do you know Belikov? What does my birthday have to do with this?"

"Nothing Bells." He lied. He actually lied to me. "Nothing at all."

I was too tired to argue with him any further, so I let it go, Dimitri disappeared into his room, and I did the same, falling into bed, exhausted and weary from the day and night. I got a few hours of sleep before my alarm, set for eleven in the morning started to scream very loudly. I didn't need an hour to shower and get dressed before meeting Yuri, but I did need some time to run over to the student dorms to check on Jesse. I hadn't received an update from the Guardians while I slept, so I assumed all was well. But, this was Jesse Zeklos. He could've snuck out without any detection from the other Guardians. I threw on my light blue tracksuit and took a quick run to his dorm. I considered knocking, but did not want to wake Jesse or Aaron, his roommate, if they were sleeping. The Guardian watching the dorms was on his way up to this floor, so I made my way out, stopping him along the way.

"He's still in there." The Guardian told me. "I've had a Guardian posted very close to each exit, so not one Moroi has escaped or tried."

I smiled in thanks, running all the way back to my room to shower. At least I had gotten a little more exercise today. I saw Dimitri walking in my direction as I walked back through the Guardian building.

"Bellamy?" He was surprised to see me. "Are you not playing pool with Yuri?"

"I have to go and change first." I did not stop as I kept moving to the stairs. "I ran over to check on Jesse." I was to the base of the stairs, and all of the questions I had lingering in my head started to bother me all over again.

"Dimitri?" I knew when I said his name, he had stopped too, turning back to where I stood.

I briefly considered how to approach this delicate question I had for him. I did not want to sound accusatory or ungrateful.

"What was your role in all of this?" I didn't know any other way to ask him. Part of me knew that he'd had something if not everything to do with my being thrown into this Guardian job at seventeen. I did not know how much of a role he had played though.

"I know that the Council feels that I am less of a threat as a Guardian than as a novice, but it was mentioned that I was requested back here at St. Vladimir's. I was given the opportunity to be Jesse's Guardian because … It had to be you. What did you tell them?"

I saw his façade crack only the tiniest bit. There was in fact something that he had been keeping from me. I knew it.

"Everything had already been said and decided by the time Rhys Bowen called to ask my opinion. By that point, the Council had made its decision for your future."

"Then who was it? If not you…"

"Mostly Yuri." He said, and I could've been knocked to the floor by a feather.

Yuri? I was not expecting that.

"You probably would've been impressed and surprised by what he had to say."

I thought back to that point in my life when the idea and reality of becoming a Guardian had hung by a thread; that time in my life when the Council was in full control of my life. I remembered the things that Yuri said about me. He defended me in Court that day and I could not have been more grateful. Knowing now that he had made the request for me to return, brought forward many more thoughts. I left Dimitri to walk in the opposite direction, running up to change again, making sure my hair was pulled up into a clip. I threw on some lip gloss, and made a point to cover my Zeklos tattoo with a few bracelets.

I arrived downstairs in what could effectively be seen as a game room. In one corner of the room, were two televisions, many pool tables spread out around the very large room, a few tables where cards were being played, and many other areas of fun. I was clearly being waited for today as the voices that had been loudly talking a moment ago, went silent, all eyes on me. No, it wasn't unsettling and suspicious at all. I spotted Yuri first, singling him out after what Dimitri had divulged to me. I walked straight to him as Guardians all around said hello as I entered, moving by them all.

"Bellamy." He greeted me. "You made it."

"Thank you." I felt all of my muscles tense as I slipped in closer, kissing his cheek, explaining what Dimitri told me.

DIMITRI:

I felt the need to protect her. I could not help myself. I did not do it because she was Bridgette's niece, or because I did not think that deep down Yuri could change and be good for her. I was hard on him when it came to Bellamy, but honestly, I was currently in no position to judge who was right or wrong for someone when it came to emotions and wanting someone who was unavailable. Hell, at least Bellamy was eighteen. I protected Bellamy because I could still see the damage that Mason's death had done to her. It was much the same as the damage I saw in Rose. No. Bellamy was not yet ready to move on. I would not let her be pushed into something she was not ready to fully accept.

I did a double take when she walked into the room, went straight over to him and kissed him. She had only kissed his cheek, but that was not the point. Yuri's hand touched her hip as she lowered herself down onto her heels again. I was not the only one who noticed the display of affection, and I must have been far too obvious as I kept a close eye on her.

Does she get that he is into her?" Alberta questioned from beside me, but I chose to ignore the question. It only gave her more fuel to further the issue. "Someone has to talk to her about this." She looked at me expectantly.

"About what?'

"About Tverskaya being attracted to her."

"Every man within a twenty mile radius of Bellamy is attracted to her." I scoffed.

"True." I was wrong to think the issue had been dropped. "But this is Yuri."

"He has the potential to be a good guy." I replied. "She could do worse."

"She is still mourning Mason Ashford. She is vulnerable."

"Bellamy is smart. And do you really think that she would allow herself to be taken advantage of?"

Alberta did not look convinced, and the truth was, neither was I.

"You need to talk to her Dimitri."

"Bellamy." My head turned too, to see Stan sitting with a few other Guardians. "Come and join us."

I didn't have a chance to object before Alberta did.

"That's probably not a good idea." Alberta said, stepping into Bellamy's path, attempting to halt her from accepting the shot Stan offered her.

"Nonsense." Stan returned. "If she is considered responsible enough to become Guardian to Jesse Zeklos, then she is responsible enough to have a drink with us. Sit." He commanded her.

Bellamy evaded Alberta's swift dodge, sitting with Yuri by her side. All of a sudden the two were joined at the hip?

"Welcome to the elite ranks of St. Vladimir Guardians, Guardian Pearce." Stan celebrated her. "You're going to need this babe." He slid a shot glass across a small table.

All of a sudden, I realized how futile and useless my protection of Bellamy might be. She was a Guardian now. She could not be protected forever. As her friend however, I still could not help but protect and shield. She drank the liquid down, looking as though she might be sick. Her face went pale, and I saw her shake as if a chill had swept through her body.

"What is that? Lighter fluid? Battery acid? Hell-fire?"

"Everclear." Yuri drank a bit.

The rough and brief bit of pain she got from the shot subsided, and it seemed to give her a moment of clarity and peace. For the first time since her return, I could not see the pain in her eyes.

Yuri whispered something to her, his arm around her now. The two stood up and Yuri led her away from the area.

"Are we celebrating children's birthdays now?" The area of the room went nearly silent as Gabriella commented to Bellamy and Yuri.

But Yuri was not one to let someone he obviously cared for be belittled. Of course Bellamy wasn't either.

"Back off Gabby." Yuri insisted.

"You remember what I said Yuri." Gabriella was clearly hurt by the fact that Yuri had traded one woman for the other. "I have no intention of bowing down to some little girl just because she has a couple of molnija marks. More than half of us have them. Why is she more important?"

"We all wear the marks for killing, Gabby." Alberta spoke up again before I could. "But not one of us has been through or would've had the courage to do half of the things Bellamy Pearce has in less than a year."

"Come on Bellamy." Yuri pulled her away. "How about a game of pool?"

I saw Bellamy pull back for a second.

"I should probably admit now that I have never played pool in my life. I've seen others play, but I have never picked up one of those sticks to play."

"Never?" Yuri was flirting again, but Bellamy didn't seem to mind, so I knew I shouldn't feel so perturbed by Yuri's behavior. "Well, then it looks as though I am lucky enough to get to teach you." He led her to a pool table, and I along with others eventually shifted to other pool tables.

"Go pick a pool cue." Yuri instructed.

As I played a one-on-one match of eight-ball pool with Stan, I still kept watch of Bellamy.

YURI:

A shift had occurred within me when it came to Bellamy. I wasn't going to deny my attraction to her. I had already admitted it to her. There was no going back now, but these little steps forward gave me hope. Something about this girl brought life back to me. Her presence was uplifting. I was not afraid to say that I was beginning to really like her. So, as she skipped over to the pool table, cue in hand, I also could not hide my smile.

"You go first." She said, looking at the table. "Show me what to do."

I heard a low laugh behind me from Stan, listening to the change in her.

"That is not how you learn to play pool Bellamy." And suddenly, I could feel Bellamy's pseudo big brother staring daggers at my back. "Come here." I offered for her to join me.

She did. Stepping up close to the table, and me, Bellamy's courageous and flirtatious nature was often equal to mine. Moving her into position, I placed one hand to her shoulder, and the other at her waist. As she leaned down to the table, I stayed close, leaning in with her. My breathing was in synch with hers, and I could feel my heartbeat pounding against my chest into her. My hand gently moved from her shoulder, covering over her hand as my arm now wrapped around front of her, lining up her cue with the ball.

I felt her take in a deep breath, her entire body tensing as she stood straight back up.

"I think I need some air." She said, handing over her pool cue to me. "I think you can handle taking this shot." She was walking away, out the door in a matter of seconds, avoiding anyone who attempted to follow or question her departure.

"You know you need to go after her." Stan suggested, coming to stand beside me.

Dimitri of course disagreed, shaking his head and keeping his distance. He was giving me that smug yet protective and disapproving stare.

"You need to let her be." He advised, watching with more disdain as I turned away, glancing at the door. "I'm just looking out for her."

"Who says you need to Belikov?" Okay, that was a little too confrontational of me.

Dimitri walked right over to me, tossing his pool cue to his table. "Your track record and history say that I need to."

I was not about to get into a fight with Dimitri Belikov, but I also wasn't going to let him or anyone else dictate my friendship with Bellamy.

"Bellamy Pearce is a big girl. She is clever enough to make her own decisions and take care of herself." I backed off.

"For God's sake," Dimitri continued, "Mason Ashford's funeral was a little over a week ago. You're already trying to…"

"Jesus Dimitri." I swore. "I am not trying to do anything."

"You cannot get that close to her yet Yuri. She won't let you."

It was infuriating to have Dimitri lecturing me and condemning my behavior, but perhaps he had made a good point. Mason was less than two weeks buried, and Bellamy was still hurting. Without another word to anyone, I rushed out of the common room to go find Bellamy. I had made the very smart or very dumb choice to seek her out. I was still unsure if I should listen to Dimitri or Stan, so I followed my own intuition when it came to Bellamy. I found her outside, sitting beside a small fountain in front of the doors. She was silent, not yet aware of my presence. I stood back, watching the wind blow through her hair. Her fingertips ran right over the water in the fountain, causing ripples to glide and spread out across the top. My heart hurt to see her so sad. Causing her pain was the last thing I'd ever intended to do.

"Bellamy?" I softened my voice, seeing her turn swiftly, recognizing that I was with her now.

She stood, walking a few feet closer. "Did Dimitri send you to make sure I am okay?"

"No. He strictly advised me to give you your space."

"So you decided to ignore his advice?" She gave that sweet half smile.

I could not tell if her comment was meant to push me away, or if I was supposed to answer.

"Despite what Dimitri said, Stan thought coming to see that you are okay was a better plan."

She smiled briefly again, looking upward to the sky.

"If Dimitri was right, I will go." I told her. "If he was wrong, I can stay out here with you. We can talk, or I can listen to you talk." I offered then, watching as she looked back at me, turning away again.

"I'll go." I turned away, making it all the way back to the doors before being stopped.

"You can stay."

My whole body felt lighter as those three words were said. She didn't look back at me, but I returned to stand beside her.

She sighed. "I'm sorry I ran out of there like a crazy person." She explained to me. "I started to feel…" She paused, choosing her words carefully now, "conflicted." She finally said.

"I see." I felt as though I knew exactly where her confliction stemmed from. "Bellamy, I'm sorry. I did not mean to…"

"It was not you Yuri." She twisted around to face me again, looking directly at me. "It's me. I'm still broken. I began to feel guilty when you were so close to me."

"So, it was partly my fault?"

"No. I felt guilty because this small part of me did not mind you being so close."

There was a short silence between us. And then, Bellamy began to swear out loud, holding her wrist as though she were hurt.

"Damnit!" She swore. "Damn that troublemaking Moroi. He's going to kill me before I kill him."

I could not tell if she was actually hurt or not, until she caught my concerned gaze.

"Sorry.' She held her hand to her wrist.

"Bellamy, what is it? What happened?"

Without any warning or clue, she walked away, stepping into the sun. She looked beautiful under the sunlight. I walked over to her as her eyes stayed on me as I approached her. There was something in the way that she looked at me this time. There was something strange within her eyes.

"You should've kept your distance." Bellamy said. "Damn your eyes." She focused on me. "Damn your wonderful blue eyes." She said, coming in as close as she could to me.

I held my breath and tensed as she lifted onto her toes, her hands touching to my shoulders. I was in a state of confusion, but my hands reacted to her, moving to her lower back. 'She is not ready', my head kept telling me, but then she softly pressed her mouth to mine. She was kissing me. Her mouth was warm against mine and her lips were inexplicably soft. It was so much of what I wanted and everything that I knew I could not take from her. And yet, my desire to kiss her back was winning. I could not help myself. I kissed her back. There was nothing sweet or unsettled about the kiss we shared. It was all passion and heat as her hands moved from my shoulders, into my hair, my hands pressing to her back harder, keeping her lifted to me. There had been times when I thought about what it might be like to kiss Bellamy; there were times when I had dreamt about this moment, and now I was allowed to kiss her. I was allowed to hold her this close to me. All of those dreams, and all of those private thoughts I'd kept to myself until now- none of them compared to this. The moment continued for several minutes before we were caught. A throat clearing from my left separated us. Bellamy pushed back away from me, looking confused and horrified. We had been caught by Gabby, and I knew nothing good would come from that, but I was more concerned about Bellamy.

"Bell…"

"I'm sorry Yuri." She apologized to me. "I didn't mean to… I don't know why I… I'm sorry." She could not get away fast enough, bolting by me, back into the building.

I couldn't go after her this time. Something strange had happened. The kiss was wonderful, but clearly Bellamy had not been expecting to do it.

BELLAMY:

I had just kissed Yuri. I had intensely and passionately just kissed Yuri. What the hell had just come over me? I had wanted to kiss him in that moment, but I had not been in control over wanting to kiss him. A strange desire had swept into me without any warning at all. It was Jesse's emotions. I had been experiencing what he was feeling, and it had caused me to kiss Yuri. I had just kissed Yuri.

The kiss was nice. It was more than nice. Yuri was a very skilled and good kisser. It was not the earth shattering or mind blowing kind of kiss I'd always experienced with Mason, but it was nice. I should not have kissed him. But, I could not control the emotional swell I had just felt. One thing I knew for sure, was that I was not ready to get over Mason yet. I hid out in my room until evening set in. I had to get to Jesse before he snuck away from any detail I set up.

"Bellamy." Dimitri called my name before I could get out the doors.

I turned to see him coming towards me with that severe look on his face.

"Alberta needs to see you." He stated. "Now."

I gave a nod, going quickly down the hall to the room that Alberta used as a make-shift office. I knocked, poking my head into the room.

"You wanted to see me?"

Alberta lifted her eyes to me from behind a big desk.

"Come in Guardian Pearce, and sit down."

Oh no. She was referring to me as Guardian Pearce. I had obviously done something wrong. I entered the small room and sat in a chair across from her, folding my hands in my lap.

"I assume you know why I have called you in here Bellamy." Alberta spoke, but I really did not know.

"I don't." I hesitated.

She took a deep breath, putting a hand to her head, setting down the report she was working on. "I received a complaint."

"About me? You're serious?"

"With any complaint, I must follow up Bellamy."

I had to agree with her. I knew the job, and it was not easy. "Question away."

"You were seen kissing another Guardian earlier today."

I almost laughed. "That is what this is about? You called me in because I kissed Yuri?"

"It's true then."

Like Yuri, I could not tell Alberta about my connection to Jesse, so I had to both admit to and deny my mistake. "This might sound ridiculous, but I did not mean to kiss him There is not much I can say to excuse my behavior, but…"

"Bellamy," Alberta interrupted me, "this is not about you kissing Yuri."

I was confused. "This is more importantly about whether or not that was the first time he has kissed you, or that you've kissed him."

"Alberta!" I was appalled that she would think something like that.

"Please answer the question Bellamy."

"Yes." I said. "Yes, it was a first."

"An allegation has been made about you and Guardian Tverskaya having inappropriate conduct before today."

"By who?" I was becoming agitated. "I assure you Alberta, that was the first time Yuri and I ever…"

"So, when you were here last, as a novice?"

"I was with Mason." I reminded her. "Alberta, Yuri Tverskaya is a good guy and an incredible Guardian. I have long felt this. But, I am not ready to be so needed by one person again. I need more time."

"Mr. Ashford's death really tore you to pieces." Alberta recognized in return. "I cannot imagine that you would jump into any other romantic situation so quickly."

Alberta went quiet, flipping through a stack of papers with names written in columns.

"So, if I keep you and Yuri teamed up during the novice field training, that won't be a problem?"

A problem? Yuri was attracted to me, and I could not control what happened to me with Jesse's emotions yet. Yuri and I were scheduled to be teamed up for the field exercises for the students. This was news to me, but I couldn't very well have a problem with it. Now.

"No problem at all, but can I ask who made this accusation?"

Alberta shook her head. "I am not permitted to reveal that information."

I could understand that. Although, I had a strong suspicion of the source of this lie.

"Does Yuri know about this? Have you questioned him?"

"I intend to."

I did not respond, so she let me go. I had to get to Jesse.

Four days later, it was time for the Dhampir novices to start their field training on campus, which would be nothing like the real thing. They would be assigned a Moroi, and challenged to guard them for the next six weeks. Dhampirs would still attend their own classes for the first half of the school night, but after lunch, be joined at the hip to their Moroi. This gave us Guardians the responsibility of monitoring from afar, taking notes of their behavior, and testing their learned skills. Christian was assigned to Rose Hathaway, who ungraciously made a loud argument about being "stuck" with him. Christian's girlfriend, Vasilisa Dragomir was assigned to Eddie, and Jesse would be guarded by Dean Barnes.

I worried most about Jesse and Dean rooming together, only because Dean still did not take becoming a Guardian as seriously as he should, and because he was in charge of my Moroi. The two of them together were double trouble. I was not allowed to step in when it came to guarding, and I was no longer allowed to advise. I could watch and critique from a distance, but that was it. Yuri and I were assigned to follow, detail, and eventually test Shane Reyes, who guarded Aaron Drozdov, and Ryan Aylesworth, who was guarding Camille Conta.

After our impromptu kiss days ago, Yuri and I were both brought into Alberta's office and questioned about the nature of our friendship when I was a novice, and our friendship now. After talking alone, Yuri and I were in full agreement about who stood behind any vile assumptions that we had been too close before now.

"Gabriella has it out for you because of me." Yuri mentioned in private as we spoke one morning while running the Academy grounds. "This is my fault. I'm sorry Bellamy."

I stopped running, stretching my back and arm muscles as I rested.

"I kissed you Yuri. If anyone is to blame…"

"I kissed you back Bellamy." He returned. "Plus, this is not solely about that kiss."

We were getting nowhere in our discussion.

"She is jealous of you."

"Of course this is all about her jealousy." I reasoned

"Wait until she finds out that we are teamed up together for the next six weeks."

I shook my head. That was going to cause more trouble. We kept running, continuing to discuss and argue our dilemma. On our way to the gym, where we planned to further our work out, we ran by the small shaded area where my Mason was given a plaque on the grounds, signifying his sacrifice and untimely death. Yuri must have seen my reaction, because he did not hesitate to stay by my side.

"It must be difficult." I heard Yuri say from behind me, stepping up to my side. "Being here." He clarified his comment. "It must be hard for you to be here everyday without him." Yuri referred to Mason.

"It is." I admitted out loud. "But, being here is my job. Jesse must come first.

"You loved him so much."

"I love him still Yuri." I corrected. "He was everything to me, and I did not get to tell him."

I saw Yuri give a strange look to me out of the corner of my eye.

"I know it is young and naïve of me to think that he could be the only man to come into my life, but thinking of anyone else being that important in my busy life, or thinking I might find someone to mend these pieces of my heart is still a struggle. It is pointless because I am not yet ready."

Yuri nodded, dipping his head, keeping his eyes cast downward. His arm was around my shoulder, but I did not remove it.

"You are trying to be subtle about letting me down," he acknowledged, "and I am okay with that." He gave a soft laugh. "I know that you are not ready for anything even remotely resembling dating, but I do not want to stop being your friend Bellamy."

YURI:

I couldn't-I wouldn't let her retreat into that dark place I'd seen her in when she had first arrived back at St. Vladimir's. It was an unbearable thing to see her go through all over again. In the past few weeks, I was starting to see the Bellamy I knew returning. She smiled again, her eyes sparkled when she spoke, and I saw purpose in her as she began to take control of Jesse Zeklos. I was hoping she was starting to truly grieve. I did not hope for my sake, but for hers.

She'd said that she didn't mean to kiss me. Trying to come up with an answer to that, I realized I had no clue what it meant. How does one accidentally kiss someone else? It was not as though she had tripped and fell into kissing me like that. Not that I minded her kissing me at all. In fact, I had not been able to stop thinking about it. I could recall every detail of how she traced her thumb along my bottom lip between one of kisses. I was thinking now about how in those moments, I wondered how I'd gone this long without kissing her.

"I'm sorry." She said, breaking through all of my thoughts of her. "You must think I am some sort of freak for still feeling like this."

"No Bellamy, I don't. I of all people do not think that." I put my hand to the door as we reached the gym, stopping either of us from entering. "As I said, you are not ready to react any other way." I opened the door, then allowing her to enter. "Bellamy, we can forget that we kissed if you need to." I said the words, and I wasn't even sure where they had come from. "It could be like it never happened."

Bellamy stopped, pushing me back outside, letting the door close behind us.

"You could forget that kiss? Really?"

I made a low scoffing sound, realizing how ridiculous it would be for me to think I could forget her mouth and her hands.

"No. Probably not." I swear I saw her smile. "Could you?"

"No." She honestly said. "I would not want to forget about a kiss like that. It was a good kiss. A great kiss."

"It was." I agreed, knowing what I needed to say next. "Bellamy, I am glad that you enjoyed the kiss." I started. "But, I am not going to kiss you again."

She was definitely taken aback by my statement, and more so by the fact that I seemed to mean it.

We entered through the gym, separating as we went to work out in different areas of the training room. She concentrated on machines and equipment that helped her core, while I stayed at the weights, focusing on my arms, chest, and back. She glanced over a few times I could see in the mirror, but she said nothing, obviously still questioning me in silence. After an hour of separation and not talking, I thought we could use a change.

"You ready for a little hand-to-hand?" I asked her, watching her jump off of the elliptical machine.

"Let's go." She walked into the combat training area, stretching her muscles again before we started.

We fought back and forth as we had many times, hitting hard and swinging fast, but something was changed now in the dynamics of our training. We wrestled for control, both gaining and losing it in the full half hour we had been fighting. Finally, I was not sure if I'd defeated her, or if she had simply given in, but I had her pinned beneath me, breathing hard and staring up at me with those sparkling eyes of hers. Damn her eyes, I thought, thinking back again to the words she'd said before kissing me.

"You really aren't going to kiss me again?" She questioned me, and for the first time since returning from the Guardian Court, I saw the vulnerability that she hid so well.

"Do you want me to kiss you again?" I returned with a question of my own, holding her beneath me still, holding my breath in anticipation of her answer.

Her eyes shifted from me to the side. She could not answer the question, so I knew the answer.

"You don't know. So, no. I will not kiss you again." God knows everything in me wanted to kiss her. "I can't Bellamy.' I told her, using all of my resistance. "I can't kiss you again until you are ready to kiss me. When you are ready, /I will be waiting for you to kiss me. And I hope that you do."

I leapt off of her, letting her come to a stand. We were finished working out, and had to prepare to discreetly follow and find weaknesses in the assigned novices we were grading over the next month and a half. We were not ten feet away from the gym when Bellamy stopped again. She took my arm, holding tight enough to halt me. Once again, it was unexpected as she lifted up, kissing me again. This time however, she very chastely and softly kept the kiss to my cheek.

"What was that for?" I had to ask.

"For being you." She replied, letting me go. "For knowing that it will take longer for me to regain the things I've lost in myself."

BELLAMY:

The night was long. It was a strange and sobering, to be on this side of the field experiences. It felt odd to be the one grading and on the offensive side of these impending skirmishes, rather than on defense. The Dhampir at St. Vladimir's were all well trained. They had skills and training that made them deadly in every strike. They were trained and advised by some of the most lethal and world renowned Guardians. That being known, there were also many who were not taking these exercises as seriously as they should.

"Guarding royal Moroi is a privilege, not a right. Vigilance and dedication is heightened." I had to remind Ryan again.

He and Camille were on their way to the feeders, but Yuri and I were also scheduled to watch Shane and his royal, Aaron Drozdov. They were starting the lunch period, which meant I had to hand over control of Jesse too. I kept my distance from Jesse as much as possible, but could not help but check in on him every so often. He and Dean were in the café where Aaron and Shane stayed.

"Well," I heard Jesse and Ralf Sarcozy talking to Rose Hathaway a few feet away from where Yuri and I were on duty. This part of the job was easy. I could watch Shane and Aaron, while keeping an eye on Jesse without getting into trouble for doing so, "I suppose if anyone's going to keep an eye on that Strigoi wannabe, it might as well be you."

Strigoi wannabe? I watched images of me smacking Jesse silly go through my head. Jesse was unequivocally insulting Christian. I kept my ears to his conversation before I had to disappear.

"Christian has nothing to do with any Strigoi." Rose kept her voice low.

Good for Rose. I wished I could give her points for verbal protection of Christian. She was willing to defend him, even after she had made a point to raise hell when she became his Guardian instead of Vasilisa's. Eddie too made a point from beside Rose to stand up for Christian.

"You can't lay a hand on me." Jesse finished, walking away soon after, with the incredibly degrading "crazy bitch" comment to finish his childish attempt to belittle Rose or Christian.

The moral side of me could not let his conversation go. It wasn't the bitch comment that irritated me most, although I was continuously kneeing his groin in my head, it was the fact that he was better than this. This persona he used around the Academy was not the real Jesse Zeklos. I had seen small pieces of the real Jesse, and he could be better. I gave Yuri a single glance and he knew that I needed a few minutes with Jesse. He nodded as I made my way to stand near my Moroi.

"Out in the hall." I discreetly demanded of Jesse. He spun around. "Now." I said, learning to use the strict and unyielding Guardian tone that showed no room for dissonance.

"Are you going to lecture me about what I said to Hathaway?" He inquired as soon as he hit the empty hallway. "Did you hear what she said? Did you hear the way she spoke to me?"

"Good for her I say." Jesse was genuinely insulted, and I could see that the conversation coming was not one for this or any other school hall.

I led Jesse into a classroom and he was first to start speaking.

"You are supposed to be on my side here." His words held bite, but I was not about to back down or roll over for a spoiled, entitled Moroi.

"Hardly. I have a mind of my own, I use it, and being your Guardian does not require me to stand behind the awful, insulting, or stupid things you say and do."

"That tattoo you wear says different."

"Oh please Jesse." I held my temper, but not my tongue. "Do not for a second think that you can threaten me with this." I lifted my wrist up between us. "This tattoo works because I allow it to. I am affected, because I let myself be."

Jesse scoffed and again I really wanted to smack that self-superior look off of his face.

"Look Jesse, it is going to be a long hard life for both of us if you continue to act like such a dick. I suggest you and I work together rather than against each other. I made a promise to have your back, and no one including Rose Hathaway will get by me and to you, but just remember," I was getting myself worked up thanks to the barriers still between me and Jesse, "she can't touch you, but I can. And I will not hesitate next time, to…"

"Now you're threatening me?" Jesse interjected with a good point.

I had told him not to threaten me with our connection, but now I was threatening him. It was not fair.

"You're right." I stopped. "I shouldn't have said that." I turned away from our disagreement. "But I cannot work like this Jesse."

I was surprised to hear a low and equally as frustrated groan from him. "Fine. But this isn't easy on me either Bellamy. Why aren't you out yelling at Hathaway? She's the one who has been bitching and crying about being stuck with Ozera. I bet she fails her test so that she doesn't have to protect him." Jesse sat at one of the desks. "But perhaps you side with her ideology. If she doesn't want to protect him, she would rather fail. Perhaps you might make that same choice if I am ever in trouble."

We were separated by at least seven feet of space, and I could feel all of his frustration and something I was unable to place.

"You are not an Academy Guardian when I graduate Bellamy."

"Jesse, I would never… How can you think that I would let anything like that…" I dropped down into one of the student chairs too. "You don't trust me." I realized what the emotion I could not place was. Distrust. I felt so horrible.

"I want to trust you." He had moved to a chair closer to mine.

I could understand why Jesse might not trust me after everything he and I had been through before this. But, if I was going to be his Guardian, and because I had committed to being his Guardian, I needed his trust. His trust was key to this working relationship actually working.

"That is why you have gone through so many Guardians." I came to the obvious conclusion, "You did not trust them."

His eyes showed the truth. "How can I know for sure that in a life and death situation, you would really be there for me?"

"Jesse, I need you to trust that I will always do what is best for you, in order to keep you safe. You are my priority, as much as it pains me to say it still."

The look I received from him now, was one that I had never seen him give anyone. It was unsettling.

"Jesse."

"None of the other Guardians ever said that." Jesse admitted to me, and I could feel all of our sharp edges starting to drop away.

"None of those other Guardians were me. We are linked for life. I have to take that seriously. Remember what I said to you in the gym when I had to protect you from four Guardians?"

He shook his head.

"The last part of what I said was "you die, I fail."" I reminded him. "I don't like to fail Jesse. I do everything in my power not to fail. I will not fail to protect you." I stood back up. "You act as though I had no choice in becoming your Guardian, but the truth is, I chose this." I hoped mentioning that I had not been forced or simply told I would become Jesse's Guardian would help to turn his understanding.

"Okay." Jesse agreed, standing back up.

I was beginning to hold more hope that we might reach a better path of trust together, but I knew that there were more conversations like this ahead, waiting for us. We were not yet to a place where we could relax into a normal Guardian-Moroi working relationship, but this was a start, and I could work with a starting point.

"Okay, go." I said to him, letting him run back to his friends and school.

"Bellamy?" I turned back to Jesse before he left the room. "I am going to the feeders after school. If you would like to tag along as my actual Guardian…"

"Of course Jesse." I smiled. There were some times during field exercises when I could get away with being closer to Jesse as his Guardian. And because we were now working on solidifying a better sense of trust, I felt it necessary to do so.

The night went by much faster. Yuri and I collected and shared our notes with one another, regarding the Dhampirs we watched. We were planning a strategy for our attacks, knowing that for them, the waiting was worst. I spotted Christian and Eddie many times throughout the night, stopping to say hello, and when he requested it, I promised Christian that he and I could talk again in private. Our last talk, the first one since my return had been polite. Too polite. I knew there were things he wanted to say, things he could not say in front of others, things that would make my guilt and loss return. There were also things that I had yet to say to him as well, so I agreed.

Later, I joined Jesse, walking with Dean and Shane, who both questioned me relentlessly about killing Strigoi, and being a new Guardian, both of us following at a safe distance on our way to the feeders. Jesse was walking with his own friends, so it was better that I kept a slight distance. Joining him while he was with his Moroi friends meant that I was subject to hearing all of the comments his friends would make about me being Jesse's new Guardian. Today it was Aaron Drozdov who took his turn.

"I still cannot believe that warrior Barbie is your new Guardian." The two men laughed, failing at keeping Aaron's nickname quieter.

Warrior Barbie, I thought. Well, it was definitely less offensive than some of the other nicknames Jesse's friends had come up with. Once the two men found their way to the back room, to their feeders, I kept more distance, letting Dean take control. The smell of blood was in the air now, making my stomach turn. It was stale and stung my sinuses the entire time I waited for Jesse.

"You can always stand inside of the room." I heard Jesse say as he soon exited his feeder's room, Dean at his side.

"No thank you." A wave of nausea swept over me at the thought. "Come on." I made an attempt to escort him out. "Don't you have homework, or a date with some unsuspecting naïve Dhampir?"

I heard him laugh. "Unsuspecting?"

"Okay." I heard my mistake. "Most girls at the school seem to know what they are getting themselves into." I corrected, and it was true. "Which makes them more stupid than naïve."

Jesse smiled back at me, giving me that fake innocence he tried to use. It did not work on me.

"I don't have a date." He mentioned. "I have a paper in Russian Literature to start before this weekend."

I looked over at him, continuing to walk. "You haven't started your final paper yet?" I was legitimately shocked by his nonchalance about his school work. He was so smart, and could do so much more. I knew he was capable of more.

"I had to come up with a research topic first." He said, actually having a normal conversation with me. "Did you have to write a paper before you graduated, or did you bat your eyes and flirt your way out of it?"

I could hear the sarcasm in his words, but I couldn't tell if he was being malicious about the question, or simply making another joke, so I used my own biting sarcasm to respond.

"Warrior Barbie actually had to write many final papers. And yes, I wrote one for Russian Lit."

He turned his face away, reddening with embarrassment over the nickname he and Aaron had used. "What was your topic?" He asked as we stopped at the library for him to check out a pile of books.

"Romance and Modern style of nineteenth and twentieth century literature, focused on works by Pushkin, Tolstoy, and Dostoevsky." I told him.

He looked impressed, so I had done my job, silencing him into striving for better. After awhile longer, I left both Jesse and Dean on their own. Jesse was Dean's responsibility for now, so I had to let go of the reins. I left to go and meet with Christian after he made a point to want to talk.

It was still fairly dark outside. The sun was not yet rising, but bits of blue could be seen beginning to appear through the sky. I could still get to Christian before he would have problems getting back to his dorm by curfew. Halfway across campus to the Church, I swore I was being followed. I stopped and came face to chest with Dimitri when I spun around.

"Son of a… Dimitri, you scared the hell out of me. What are you doing sneaking around, following people at night?"

"I could ask you why you are sneaking around campus too."

"I'm not sneaking around." I informed him. "Why are you following me?"

"I want to talk."

"About what?"

I could hear the hesitation in his voice and feel the apprehension in his body language. "What exactly is going on between you and Yuri?" He asked, walking beside me.

I must have looked stunned by his inquiry, because he opened his mouth, attempting to possibly retract his question. My hand reached over and wrapped to his wrist, bringing him to stand still with me.

"What is going on between me and Yuri?" I repeated. "In what sense are you asking this very intrusive and unnecessary question?"

"In the sense," He averted his eyes, looking far more reticent, "that you might be attracted to him?"

My head tilted as my hand dropped from his wrist. We started to walk again.

"Attracted to Yuri?" I considered the possibility. "I suppose he is good looking." I thought about the way his eyes alone could cause so much bedlam in me. "But, no." I did answer his question. "No, there is nothing going on between us. We flirt. It's still harmless. I like him, but only as a friend. And I don't think I will be ready to be attracted to anyone enough to date them or sleep with them for a long time to come." I said. "Yuri is nice. He is sweet and kind hearted, but until I am ready to stop talking to Mason each night, I'm not willing to find someone new in my life either."

"He is going to try to take advantage of you. You are still vulnerable Bellamy."

I gave a very long sigh, figuring out in my head, the best way to approach this.

"Dimitri, I love you sweetie." I told him, making him get that uncomfortable upper body muscle tension thing he did when he was uneasy with a situation. "I love you like you are one of my closest friends, in a way that any friend should love another friend. You may not discuss all of your life with me, but I am glad that you are sweet enough, protective enough, and enough of a friend to help me through my life."

He relaxed then.

"But as a friend, you need to trust me the same way that I trust you. You need to trust that I am smart enough to make wise enough decisions for myself. I may not always choose the right path or I might not choose the same path that you would, but that's the point. I am only eighteen, but you know that I am smart enough to know right from wrong. I know not to make any decision, especially in this case about Yuri that I may regret later."

"It isn't you I don't trust Bellamy. It's him."

"He is a good guy. You have said it yourself."

"He is." Dimitri conceded. "He is also a guy who is attracted to you. He has not made the wisest decisions with women lately. I have seen the way he conducts his less than private affairs. He will do what he must to get you."

I smiled slightly. "You're judging him?" I asked. "It takes more than pretty words and flirtation to gain my undivided attention Dimitri. I have never given my heart so easily. And Yuri has made it clear that he will not push me into anything I am not ready for." I saw Dimitri roll his eyes. "I also will not let myself be drawn into anything that I cannot handle."

"But you kissed him."

"That was not all my fault." I motioned to the tattoo on my wrist.

"You must learn to control it."

My conversation with Dimitri was leaving me to feel even more exhausted. He was definitely more distanced and distracted recently; far more than he had once been. Considering where this change in him had stemmed from, was much of what was leaving me to feel so mentally worn out. He was hiding something much bigger than he would let on about. I could see it in his eyes, as much as he tried to disguise it. I wanted very much to pry, but knew, just as I had expressed to him, that he kept his life and his secrets held closer to the vest. I would not get much information out of him if I pushed, so I backed off, promising instead to continue working on these barriers for my connection to Jesse.

"You look cold." He said in his most brotherly tone, offering me his long coat.

I had not brought my jacket because I had not thought to do so, but as he mentioned being cold, I all of sudden felt a chill sweep around me. I still had to get to Christian though, so I brushed it off.

"I'm fine." I replied. "But thank you Thor." I used his nickname.

Once he and I separated, and I was sure he had disappeared in the opposite direction, I soon found myself climbing an all too familiar set of spiral steps , leading to the church attic. I wasn't sure how Christian was able to temporarily step away from his acting Guardian, Rose Hathaway, but I did know that he and I had little time to talk privately. I reached the top step to find Christian sitting on the ledge near the stained glass window. He was so involved with his thoughts. I hated to disturb whatever had him so concentrated, but my own time was limited.

"Christian?"

He jumped, standing when he saw me take my first step into the small space. I stood at the wall to my right, keeping my heels touching to it. Christian stayed on his side of the room, his body language telling me much of what I already knew. He was cross with me for staying away, for not keeping my promise to come back sooner if possible, and for not giving him any indication of what had occurred in my life. He was upset with all of the things that he saw as wrong choices, and he had every right to be upset. I had a lot to answer for. This was not going to be easy.

"It's been so long since I've been up here." I eyed the room. "Not much has changed."

"I want to yell at you for so many things right now." He changed the subject. "Most of all, I want to question the way that you handled things between us. It was wrong." His voice held the oddest combination of sincere anger, loss, and friendly affection. "I heard nothing from you for months Bellamy. And then you returned here as a Guardian? How am I supposed to feel about this?"

"Christian, I was halfway across the world, deeply involved in training. I wanted to write to you. I wanted to talk to you in any way I could, but I knew that if I contacted you, it would make so many things harder."

"Harder for who? Me?" His voice was rising in volume. "I could've handled a letter or a note, a message from you, telling me at least that you were alive."

"My decision to stay away was not for you or anyone else. It was for me. It would have made things harder on me if I had contacted you any sooner. Along with loving Mason, I was in love with you too." I hesitated, but still took a step forward. "You know that I was in love with you. And I had to get over you."

He did not move from where he stood. "All of those things you said to me when you were here as a student, all of those private moments we shared- How much could they have meant to you really, if you were not willing to keep in contact the slightest bit?"

"Christian," I pleaded with him to hear what I said, "I meant all of the things I said. What we had was significant and important to me. It helped to shape me into the Guardian I am now."

"That's bullshit Bellamy!" He angrily shouted, both of us wincing. "I don't want what we shared to make you better." He paused. "I do, but…no. I want it to mean more. I was in love with you too. I was so in love with you, and it hurt so deep when I heard nothing. Even after you returned, I heard nothing. You avoided me for weeks."

I no longer hesitated. I didn't care if he was mad at me. I walked straight over to him, wanting to see the eyes of my friend.

"That had nothing to do with you. It was because of me Chris." I had to explain to him. "I am reminded of Mason every time I look at you. I see it all. I relive it all when I see you."

"Still?"

"Less when I see you happy with Vasilisa Dragomir." I mentioned. "I am truly happy that you have found love again. She is beautiful and she loves you so very much. I see that. The way she looks at you is the way…"

"The way you always looked at Mason." Christian pointed out.

Our fight had developed into a conversation. It was nice to sit and talk to my friend again. I had missed him.

The next few days drifted by without too many confrontations, putting many novices on edge. Yuri and I purposely had not attacked yet, increasing the impatience of our novice Guardians, ensuring that they became hyper vigilant of any attacks that lay on the horizon.

It was noon when I ventured back to Guardian housing Saturday after a run with Eddie Castille. I found a crowd of academy Guardians in the lobby, all collectively captivated by what they gathered around. I spotted Yuri in the mix of people, making my way over to him.

"What's going on here?" I asked as he concentrated on the game I saw within the gathering.

Yuri greeted me what an encouraging smile, placing his arm around me. "Stan and Stefan are locked in a battle of great magnitude. It is both thrilling and incredibly maddening to watch."

Both Stan Alto and Stefan Chase, two Academy Guardians, were intensely concentrated on a chess game that they had been playing for the last fifteen minutes. Neither was looking to submit or admit defeat. Yuri's arm pulled me in closer to his side as we watched together. It appeared that Stan was currently winning, with more of Stefan's pieces in his possession, but chess was after all about strategy and thinking ahead, anticipating your opponent's next moves on the board. This meant you had to know the mindset of the person you played against. Would your opponent play aggressively? Were they timid? Did they like to play calculatingly, by starting with subtle moves, and shifting into aggressive plays? All of these questions mattered in single moments, and it meant that the game could shift at any time.

Stan's fingers hovered over one of his pieces, and I could see the possibilities of the move flashing through his eyes.

"No." I whispered only loud enough for me and Yuri to hear. "Be smarter Stan."

His fingers continued to hover and dance over the same piece. Ultimately he moved the piece a few paces, all but forfeiting his game. Stefan was quick to spot the mistake, using the strategy needed in order to win.

"You have got to be a mental case to sit there for that long, playing one game." Yuri commented as we walked away, allowing Stefan to enjoy his victory over Stan.

"Not so." I debated Yuri's comment. "I think that if you are given enough of an incentive, you will sit for quite awhile to play."

"Do you play?" Yuri stopped to question me, interest in the sound of his voice.

"No." I mentioned truthfully.

He seemed fairly bemused by my refusal. "But you…"

"Chess is a game designed to lord intelligence over others. It is played with the purpose of beating the mental hell out of others. You also have to be able to find immediate insight into the person you are playing. It is psychological warfare and bloodlust at its finest."

"In that case, come on." He suggested, moving to the now empty chess board. "We will play for fun."

"Then what's the point?" I asked, causing his eyes to shoot straight back to me. "Like I said, there must be some incentive to sit and play such a calculating game."

"So, we will set the terms and motivating reward system before playing. What do you want to play for?" He finished setting up the pieces. "Make it something fun."

I sat down across from him, folding my hands in front of me. "If I can beat you," I paused, doubting that I would be able to win this game. I was smart, but I had not been able to read Yuri the way I should to play yet. I thought about what I might be willing to give up or accept if I could by some miracle, win this game, "if I win, you are going to take away this grating responsibility you put on m shoulders. It becomes yours if I win."

"What responsibility?"

"The one that dictates that I am to kiss you when I am imaginably ready to do so." He lifted an eyebrow, and I wanted to chuckle. "It becomes yours. You will kiss me instead when you think the time is right."

"Yuri smiled in his most flirtatious way. "That seems like it would be more of an incentive for me to win than lose."

"Not really. You are welcome to see it that way, but I think that it frees me, so I gain more than you would."

"Okay." Yuri agreed. "And if I win," He did that hot lip pursing thing that made me have to look away. His thumb and index finger drew lines on the table as he put thought into anything he might consider wanting from me. I worried about what he might suggest, "Okay, if I win, I want you to stay one night or day with me in my room."

My chest contracted, my stomach stilled, my breathing slowed, and my head went numb at the thought of what he was expecting from me.

"Yuri, I can't… I'm not ready to… that is not…"

"Bellamy." He tried to calm my thoughts and reaction. "Relax Bellamy. I am not asking you to jump into bed and have sex with me." He assured. "I would not mind it, but you are nowhere near ready for that. I'm just asking you to stay over, and…talk."

"Talk?"

He nodded. "Just like we are doing right now. I will even sleep on the couch."

Part of me had to believe that this was some sort of twisted seduction tactic he was using to get me into bed with him. Dimitri had mentioned that Yuri would do what he needed to get me. But, I also believed that he stood strong in understanding that I was not going to move any quicker than I was ready to I agreed to his terms, and we started our game.

YURI:

I honestly was not sure if she would show up until I heard the knock on my door. Bellamy and I had waged war and rewards over a game of chess a few hours earlier in the day. If she had won, it would've given me control of kissing her when I felt she were ready to fully move forward from her grief. But, if I won, she would spend a few hours with me, alone in my room, just talking. After a fairly short game, I had won. And now, she was waiting on the opposite side of my door. I had won and I was not sure how it had happened. I was not naïve enough to believe that I was smarter than Bellamy. At only eighteen, she could outdo any novice, Moroi, or Guardian at this school when it came to intelligence and logic. I let the thoughts go, and focused on the fact that we could finally just talk. I opened my door to see her standing in front of me, looking rather apprehensive. She slowly looked inside of my room, glancing from one side to the other. I soon realized what she was looking for.

"Oh, thank God." She walked in, still looking around.

She was dressed in a pair of light pink shorts and a 'Rolling Stones' t-shirt, while I was wearing a pair of dark blue lounge pants and a white t-shirt. As she sat down at the edge of my bed, I questioned the plan I'm sure she thought I secretly had in mind.

"Were you really expecting that I might try and seduce you?" I laughed out loud as her shoulders shrugged. "Bellamy, if I wanted to seduce you, I would not do it here."

She smiled weakly, but I could see the anxiety in her body language.

"Relax Bellamy." I said. "You're safe here." I slowly closed the door.

"What do you want from me Yuri?" She twisted her body to face me, tilting her head to the side, her much longer hair falling over her shoulder.

"What do I want from you?"

"Why am I really here? Why did you want me to stay over with you?"

I could've easily questioned why she would phrase her questions like that, but I did not have to.

"What can I offer you?"

I considered the best way to phrase my own response to her, hoping not to frighten or distress her any more than she already was.

"Comfort." I answered. My answer only increased her emotions. Fear, displeasure, and all out refusal replaced her anxiety and apprehension, but I watched, amazed as logic fought an inner battle with her, her many questions were shaped and reshaped in a matter of a minute.

"Why me?" She continued to ask. "What sort of comfort can I give you?" She tactfully worded her many questions into one. Her sincerity was crushing. "There are others who can certainly provide you with methods of comfort that I can't. So, if that is what you are looking for…"

She was worried that I was still trying to seduce her into my bed. It was both sweet and insulting all at once, but at least now I could understand why she was asking so many questions.

"I'm not looking to have sex with you Bellamy. It is always a tempting solution, but not what I want from you." I sat down with her. "Not yet that is." I saw a hint of amusement cross her face, so I went on. "You are right. I could maybe find other methods of comfort from others." Now she grimaced. "But, I don't want to. Can I tell you a secret?"

She slowly lifted her eyes to me again. "Sure."

"I know what it is like for you during the days, when it is impossible to sleep because you are constantly thinking about what you could've done, or said differently. I know what it is like to be plagued by memories and continuing thoughts of what could've been. Sex is clearly not the answer-not the only answer anyway. It is a temporary solution. So, I am trying something new. Let's talk. It might work. It might not. What can it hurt to try?"

"What do you want to talk about?" She surprised me

"Anything. Everything."

"Where would you like to start?" She narrowed down the range of subjects at our hands.

So I chose a single topic. "Why don't you start by telling me why you threw the chess game." I moved back as she stood up.

"What do you mean?" She walked over to my desk, unwilling to look back at me, so I would be the one to draw her back out.

"I know you Bellamy. You are far too clever to lose at chess. Pool maybe, but not chess. You had to lose that game on purpose."

"I didn't." She still denied. "Maybe I'm not good at everything I sit down or choose to do."

As I stood from my bed, she spun around, sensing the step I took towards her.

"I have an interesting theory." I pondered out loud, closing in on her, and leaning over to pick up a pen from the desk, brushing her hand with mine, just to see what sort of reaction I would get from her. I was testing her and her boundaries, and she did not cease to surprise me. "Do you want to hear my theory?" I didn't give her any way of arguing.

"You said that playing chess is all about knowing your opponent, or knowing how they think. Well, you know me Bellamy. You know me."

"I don't." She refused to admit. "It is nice that you think I do Yuri, but I don't know you as well as you think I do, and you don't know me so well yet."

"Okay." I nodded, holding my hand out to her. "So, get to know me. And give me the chance to be your friend and get to know you."

My hand stayed reaching out to her for a full minute before she accepted it, being led back to sit on the bed again. We talked for an hour, mostly about the Academy and work because it was comfortable. After the hour passed, Bellamy began her uncontrollable yawning. She was tired, and so was I. There were only a few hours left to sleep, and we needed our rest in order to launch our first attack tonight.

I glanced over to the couch where I would sleep if Bellamy stayed, but after thinking about it, I wondered how much more uncomfortable it might make her to stay in my bed as I slept across the room.

"We need to sleep." I offered to her. "But, you don't have to stay if you don't feel comfortable." I turned away, feeling her move as I did, figuring that she was going to take the offer to leave.

I nearly jumped out of my skin as her hands both touched to my shoulders.

"Do you want me to go?"

"I don't want you to go Bellamy." I expressed. "But, please don't stay out of some strange responsibility to spare my feelings or uphold a bet."

She sighed, tightening her grip on me, pulling me back. Then without warning, she let me go and stood. "I've been thinking a lot about what you said, about why you feel the need for comfort. I think I could use a little comfort myself." She admitted to me, and to herself. "I think I want to stay, but I don't want you to stop talking." She told me, pulling back the blankets on my bed. As she got comfortable, her hand lightly grazed mine, getting my attention enough to offer the other side of my bed to me.

I did not hesitate to take her up on her offer, cautiously climbing into bed with her.

"Keep talking." She yawned again.

"What should I talk about now?"

"Kiev." She turned on her side, facing me. "Tell me about Kiev. Tell me about where you lived, what you did there, the people, the Art, the food." She moved in closer as I began telling her about the Ukrainian capital, resting her head on my chest.

I put my arms around her, trying not to let my voice shake as her fingertips traced small lines on my arm.

CHRISTIAN:

I listened closely to everything Jesse had to say, knowing I was not in agreement, allowing my sarcasm and wit to get rid of him and his cohort in crime, Ralf Sarcozy I was dealing with way too much shit lately to add whatever Jesse Zeklos wanted to add to the list. As I listened to Jesse spouting off about forming some ridiculous club for "better" families, I knew it was time to talk to Bellamy again. Our last conversation had actually turned out better than expected, ending with a good feeling between us, and as Jesse went on droning about uniting royal families in order to reject or fight the Guardian assignments and other nonsense, I quickly caught on that if Jesse was involved, nothing good would come from it. Bellamy would stop whatever he was getting up to, and if she couldn't, she had the Academy resources to find something or someone who could.

Telling her to keep a closer eye on Jesse meant that I would have to see those dramatic changes in her again when I looked into her eyes. There was a time when looking into her eyes had been the best thing I could do, resolving any rising storms in me. But now, there were so many changes in her. The loss was the worst. She had lost a piece of herself when she lost Mason, and it was being replaced with something new. Now I had Lissa's eyes and touch to quell the storms within me. But why did I gain so much happiness when Bellamy had to lose hers? Our friendship was still circling and going through all of its transitions and changes. Neither of us really knew where we would land with it, but we still had to talk. I found her before first period. Walking alongside Stan Alto, laughing.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" I asked her, watching as she nodded , letting Rose and Eddie know that I was safe with her. We stepped to the side of the hallway.

"I need to talk to you about Jesse." I kept my contempt for Jesse at as much of a minimum as possible.

"Is he okay?" That was her first question, and I still could not fathom how much her feelings toward Jesse had morphed. "What happened?"

"Nothing." I said. "I'm sure he's fine. I just-"

I was cut off as another Guardian called out Bellamy's name, coming up to her side, and whispering into her ear. It was Guardian Tverskaya. From the time Bellamy had come back to St. Vladimir's, Yuri Tverskaya had been at her side. At first it was because of Mason's death. But, recently the two showed changes in whatever twisted kind of friendship they had. I watched his hand touch to her hip, his fingers tracing circles while they spoke, her own hand moving to his forearm. It was hard to tell if she might pull him closer or push him away. I waited for the two to finish their conversation. After Guardian Tverskaya was done with whatever important topic couldn't wait, Bellamy smiled up at him, nodding. Once he left, Bellamy's attention returned to me.

"You wanted to talk about Jesse?" She leaned against the wall at her right, expecting a conversation about the Moroi she guarded.

"Something going on between you two?" I questioned, knowing I was probably overstepping the lines between her and I right now.

"Me and Jesse?"

"You and-" I indicated to the Guardian currently walking in the opposite direction, "that guy."

"That guy is a Guardian. And a friend."

"One who you seem to let close enough to put his hands all over you." Okay, I was exaggerating.

"Christian!" She stood up straight, visibly angered and shocked by my insinuation.

"I'm sorry Bells. I shouldn't have…"

"No, you should not have." She held up a hand. "I thought you had something to say about Jesse."

"I do. I just want to be sure that you aren't rushing into anything."

She was completely offended now. "You are lecturing me about rushing into something?"

"Jesus Bellamy," I swore, "I'm not the one who should still be grieving Mason."

"Screw you Christian." She was becoming far angrier, and I could not keep my foot out of my mouth. My comments were out of line, but they were no less truthful.

"I have the right to ask Bellamy. I am looking out for you as a friend. Aren't we still friends?"

"We are still friends." She confirmed. "But even as a friend, you have no right to pry into this part of my life. It is none of your business. I don't question you about your new relationship." She shook her head with continuing disbelief. "I have to go. Don't be late for your first class Christian." She started to walk off.

"Bellamy, wait." I called to her. "Jesse."

"What about him?"

I made my way back over to her, seeing Rose, Lissa, and Eddie all waiting feet away.

"I think you need to watch out for whatever he is up to now. He was going on to me and Rose about starting some group for "better" Moroi royals."

"So you automatically think that he is up to something sinister?"

Seriously? She was going to defend the guy right now?

"Bells…"

"Chris, I'm well aware of what my job entails. I am even more aware that guarding Jesse is a much larger and tangled job than guarding any other Moroi."

I opened my mouth to speak, but Bellamy was quick to shut me down

"Thank you for your concern." She finished, leaving.

I didn't see her again until our lunch period as she passed through the room with a clipboard.

"She might not like it anymore than you do Christian," Eddie commented to me, obviously catching the way that I watched my friend, "but she doesn't have a choice about her job. You need to back off and let her do that job. She is a Guardian. She was practically your Guardian when she was here last. I'm sure if she did have a choice…" Now I was getting lectured by him?

"Alright." I agreed to back off.

BELLAMY:

"Something going on with you and Christian?" Eddie asked, appearing at my side before I could make a quick exit.

My argument with Christian was the only thing on my mind, and I had other things that needed my undivided attention. The only reason I was moving through the student café, was to get the last of my reconnaissance done before Yuri and I attacked our novices. If we didn't need a location, I would not have had to walk into the room and see him again yet.

I shrugged indifferently. Eddie's concern was sweet but unnecessary. "It's a disagreement over my job. We have a difference of opinion when it comes to my Guardianship."

"You mean over the fact that you are permanent Guardian to Jesse Zeklos? Yeah," He spoke with humor, "I can see where you two might be at odds there, considering your history with Jesse, and Christian's longstanding hatred of the guy."

I hummed, finding Eddie's remarks accurate and also honest. I'd had a chance to glance over at Jesse while in the room too. Notwithstanding our debate in the hallway earlier, Christian had a good point. Jesse talking about bringing together "better" royals, sounded like trouble. I would need to check in with my Moroi more often if it kept him out of trouble. I turned to Eddie before he could leave. He was closer to the potential problem than me, so if anyone had my back, it was him.

"Hey Eddie, have you noticed anything weird going on with Jesse?" I asked. "I mean, if you maybe saw him doing something, or even heard him saying something that could lead to problems…"

"Weird like what?"

"I don't know." I covertly let my eyes roam the crowded room. "Dean is Jesse's acting Guardian. If he saw or heard something from Jesse, would he…"

"He would say something Bells."" Eddie quickly assured me, putting his hand to my shoulder.

Yuri found me again as I was nearing the doorway. We were ready.

"Christian also seems to see a problem with your friendship with other Guardians."

Eddie was trying to be as discreet as possible by not mentioning Yuri's name.

"Christian has a problem with me being friends with any guy but him." I pointed out.

Eddie gave a slight nod. "Can't say I blame Tverskaya if he is interested in you though." He kissed my cheek. "If you didn't belong to Mason, I'd probably try getting closer to you too."

His comment stopped me, bringing so much more to mind.

"I'll see you later Bells."

"Thanks Ed." I smiled.

"Anytime Bells." He squeezed his arm around my shoulders.

I met up with Yuri again a short time later, discussing with him the last minute pieces of information we needed. I learned while walking through the school café that Aaron and Shane were on their way to the feeders. So, as we walked together, keeping to corners and shadows, I couldn't help but still think of my conversations with Eddie and Christian.

"You okay?" Yuri asked me, pulling on hi black jacket. "Are you up for this?"

"Don't ever ask me that again." I stated, keeping pace with him. "I'm fine."

Yuri spotted Aaron exiting one of the many feeder rooms, Shane at his back. As Yuri signaled to me, pulling the black mask over his face, I waited, biding my time, and going along with the plan. Yuri attacked first, jumping out at Shane with his usual stealth and silence. The two fought back and forth, Dean touching the training stake at his side before going in for any offensive maneuver. The battle between the two was pretty one-sided. Even I was not great at defending against Yuri. So once Shane was looking pretty exhausted and under the impression that he would face only one Guardian, I went after Aaron. After all, he was the one the Strigoi would want first. Shane's hand wrapped around my wrist before I could touch the royal, enthralled by the fighting. I was not sure if Shane had recognized me or not, but we fought as though he didn't. I was pushed, pulled, thrown, dragged to the ground, and tossed around, but I was not giving up. Shane was also unwilling to give up. I hit him back, and I hit him hard. By the time he finally got his practice stake out, fumbling it only for seconds, we were both breathing heavy as it eventually came down over my chest. Yuri and I called the fight a win for Shane this time, but this would not be his only test.

"Well done Reyes." I called over to him as he checked on Aaron, and caught his breath.

I pulled off my mask and revealed my face.

"Bellamy?" He sounded genuinely surprised that he had been fighting me, so I smirked. Yuri waited until we were back to the shadows of the campus to remove his mask. Once Shane and Aaron were out of sight and earshot, I took a deeper breath, exhaling with a high squealing.

"That was amazing." I laughed with true laughter. I had had so much fun fighting Shane, and now all of the adrenaline and excitement was swirling through every part of me. I felt free for the first time in a long time. I threw my arms around Yuri's neck, hugging him with glee.

"Yeah." He agreed, pulling me closer as his arms wrapped around me in return. "You did great Bellamy."

"I have never had so much fun." I finally let go. "All of the sadness over Mason, the anger with Christian, and all of those other maddening emotions are disappeared for now. I am so… happy." I said.

The thrill of battle really did cause great moments of exhilaration. Yuri kept one arm around me as we walked, and I held one around him. We made a good fighting team if nothing else, and I was ready to celebrate. Shane had defeated us, but that said a lot for his training, so it was still a win for us as Guardians. Unfortunately, before I could celebrate, I had one more thing to take care of.

"I have to go and have a talk with Jesse before I finish up for the night." I said to Yuri, feeling his arm drop from me.

"Hurry back." He insisted.

I walked away to search for Jesse, making an attempt to get him to talk about whatever he might be doing.

YURI:

Bellamy walked away, and I felt the high of battle waning. Her energy was contagious. Her excitement had been lifting. It was all wonderful, and I knew it was not going to last as I entered the lobby to the Guardian building, listening to conversations being had. As I roamed the room, being told about what had occurred, I spotted Dimitri, Alberta, and Stan all locked in an intense debate. I was going to have to keep Bellamy far away from this forming situation. Dimitri clearly had the same thought, eyeing the door every five seconds too. I knew exactly when he had spotted Bellamy coming towards the door. His whole demeanor changed. I could see that he wanted to go and stop her himself, but could not get away from Alberta.

I took it upon myself now to stop her from entering, and as soon as I opened the door, placing myself in front of her, I could tell that her good mood had faded after assumably talking to Jesse Zeklos. She wasn't able to get by me before I reached out to turn her around.

"Come on Bellamy. I need your help bringing in new equipment for the novices when classes resume. Stan was going to go with me, but he has to assist Alberta with some trouble. Come and help me please."

She followed me, letting me lead her away from the building for awhile.

"What was going on back there?" She asked, and I could not totally lie to her.

"Nothing really." I tried to downplay the issue. "A few of the Guardians are deciding whether or not to bring a novice in to face a tribunal to receive disciplinary action."

"Which novice?" She asked, and I wanted to bolt in a different direction.

I stayed quiet, silent even, which was a dead giveaway for my guilt.

"Not important. They'll work it out." I heard myself saying, making things worse. I should've stayed quiet.

"Which novice Yuri?" Bellamy repeated.

I gave a heavy sigh. "Hathaway."

Rose Hathaway was protecting Christian Ozera for the next few weeks of field training for the senior class, and it was common knowledge that she was vocally upset about not being placed with Vasilissa Dragomir. So, the fact that Rose was in trouble for intentionally failing to protect her Moroi would not sit well with Bellamy. Even if the two were fighting, she still cared for her friend and his safety. I waited for her to explode with anger, but rather than a burst of shouting and displeased tirades, Bellamy calmly but quickly turned around, making her way back to our lobby. I followed after her as she stepped inside of our building, staying in one place, arms crossed, foot tapping, and an impatient look n her face. She stared Dimitri Belikov down until he had no choice but to relent, walking over to talk to her about this very sensitive issue for both of them.

"She failed to protect Christian on purpose? You know Dimitri…" Bellamy actually pointed her finger at Dimitri.

"Bellamy, calm down please." Dimitri interrupted. "She will face Guardians and they will get answers from her. I do not believe that it was done on purpose."

"Of course you don't She's become your little pet project." It was a cruel and out-of-line comment

"Now wait a minute." Dimitri angrily demanded.

"So what happened then?" I wanted to know.

"I do not know. But I will find out."

That was the last word from either of the two as they separated.

An hour and a half later, I was still worried about Bellamy. She was locked away in her quarters, so I knocked on her door, taken aback by what I saw when she opened it to me.

"Yuri." She greeted, running a hand across her cheek.

Her eyes were lined in red, her cheeks tear stained and pink. She had been crying. I had interrupted some emotional process she was working through.

"I had a small fight with Christian." She explained. "It's nothing."

"It doesn't look like nothing Bellamy. Looks like it upset you quite a bit. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." She maintained. "But," she leaned onto her door, "maybe you could stay with me and talk. It can be about anything."

She wanted me to stay with her? She wanted me to do more talking with her? It made me happy again to know that her walls were coming down too.

BELLAMY:

"I feel like I'm turning bi-polar or something lately." I said to Yuri as he entered, closing my door as I went to sit back down on my bed.

I noticed Yuri looking around my quarters, checking things out, just as I had done in his.

"I was so happy earlier after we tested the Shane Reyes. It was such an incredible thrill. I felt completely unchained from everything, and after talking to Christian, I want to punch something."

"Christian?" He asked. "I thought you were going to talk to Jesse."

"I did, but I ran into Christian afterwards." The room was too quiet, and I could feel everything closing in on me. As I stood, Yuri touched my hand. "Were you crying over Christian?"

My head shook. "No. I was thinking about something Eddie said to me about Mason, and I cried."

"Eddie Castille." He made certain that was who I was talking about. "What could he have said to you?"

I sat back down, letting my legs hang over the edge of my bed, quietly revisiting the thoughts in my head over Mason.

"He broke up with me." I eventually said

"Hmm? Who?"

"Mason." I said. "You are curious about what Eddie might've said to upset me.

"You were crying because of your breakup before he died?"

"No. I was crying because I started to think about everything that has changed. When Mase broke up with me, he dated someone else. I had my training and my life that eventually had to push forward."

His silence said so much. He was not understanding what I was feeling or how I had interpreted what Eddie said.

"Don't you get it?"

"No." He shook his head back and forth a few times.

"Life had to go on. Time did not stop because we broke up. Eddie made a passing comment about how I belong to Mason, but the truth is that I haven't been Mason's for a while now. Not since…not since our split. He made promises, and so did I, but those promises were broken and negated when he died." I couldn't stop myself from saying all of this out loud, but Yuri just listened, sitting beside me, simply listening to what I had to say. "I was still in love with him after we broke up, and even now I love him. That is my cross to contend with, but coming to the realization of all of this is something that I have needed to do."

"It means that you are ready to start mourning him." Yuri put his hand over mine. I jumped still when he touched me, but it was not as shocking and unwelcome as it had been.

"Yes, well, it is another step in the right direction."

We talked until we fell asleep again, my head resting on to his chest, listening to him breathe as I drifted to sleep with the sound of his voice.

Our days off went on like this for longer, becoming almost expected that I would meet him in his quarters, or he would knock on mine. The comfort I was starting to feel was enlightening and needed in more ways than I had anticipated. I had someone to talk to, and it was nice. I had not spoken to Christian in what felt like weeks, and it felt more common to be fighting with him than not. We'd fought before he left for Moroi Court with Dimitri, Alberta, the Princess, her acting Guardian, and her soon to be actual Guardian.

"Where is Hathaway?" I asked him. He had come to find me after our last fight over Jesse, looking I hoped to apologize for his behavior as we sat outside, a few feet from the entrance of the Guardian building I stayed in.

"Penance." He answered me.

"Huh?"

"She has community service."

"Ah yes." I recalled the punishment Rose had been given after her lack of an explanation to the Guardians she pleaded with. "Her penalty for failing to protect you."

"Don't give her such a hard time Bells." Christian defended her. "I don't think she did it on purpose."

"I have got to pretend that you did not just say that Christian."

"About Rose not doing it on purpose?"

"No. About not giving her such a hard time. You are such a hypocrite." I was getting mad at him again, but he was defending the fact that his acting Guardian who had publicly bitched about guarding him, had failed in protecting him.

"You jump down my throat the minute I stand up to protect Jesse, doing my job-the job that I have to do. But, when your girlfriend's Guardian doesn't do the job she is supposed to do, she shouldn't be blamed? How the hell is that fair Christian?"

"Well for one," He was getting angry too, but kept a level tone, "my girlfriend's…Rose is not going around recruiting royals to join her, talking about uniting "elite" Moroi for whatever moronic cause Jesse thinks he has, wanting to step on and over everyone else, and Rose is not angry that non-royal Moroi want to change the laws about how Guardians are assigned."

"Hypocrite." I used the same term for Jesse quietly. "He's gone through the full lot of Guardians, and he's complaining about assignment?"

"I didn't actually think you came here to go on bashing Jesse even more." I still had to defend Jesse.

After talking to him, I knew there was something he was keeping from me, but I had not known what it was. But I had no proof that he was doing anything wrong, so I had to stand with him. If he complained about me not being on his side, he was so wrong.

"You cannot keep believing that he is not doing anything wrong here Bellamy." Christian spoke indignantly.

"You do remember that I am a Guardian now, so talking to me the way you are, and questioning my responsibilities can get you into loads of trouble, right?"

"You're pulling rank on me?" He moved passed indignant to heated. I had in fact pulled out my rank against him. "Okay, well in my eyes friendship trumps status between you and me, so I get to talk to you like this until you see reason."

"How convenient for you."

"Bells." Christian put his hand over mine in attempt to mend our hurt feelings, "what is going on here? Why are we fighting again?"

"Because I am sad Christian, and you do not know what it feels like to lose a deep crushing love. I'm trying to get over this."

"How convenient for you." He used my own sarcasm against me. "You want to get over Mason just in time to let that other Guardian into your…"

"Do not finish that sentence Christian Ozera." I warned him, standing and pulling my hand forcefully from him. "How dare you try to lessen my love for Mason because I've chosen to be friends with someone who understands what it is like to lose a love to Strigoi, to deal with the nightmares, the pain, and…you know what, I'm done here. We are done here." I walked away, leaving him where he sat.

I curled up closer to Yuri as he slept soundly. He had one arm still wrapped around me, comforting as it now did. Soon enough I fell asleep alongside him, my life problems lately producing the oddest dream.

They were all fighting. Guardians versus Guardians. I did not recognize my location, but I was blocked from joining the fight. I was the one being protected this time. Dimitri, Alberta, and Bridgette were outnumbered, but it did not matter. The most clever and deadly assassins were not willing to give up. They were protecting me. And I, I was protecting Christian, holding him at my back, keeping him away from the Guardians that closed in around us.

Minutes later, we were circled in fire, daring the Dhampirs to come and get us, but it was little comfort to have as the Moroi Queen came into view in front of us. She was holding a hostage, threatening to break his neck if I did not hand over myself and Christian. Her hostage was Mason, causing my knees to falter.

Give up Christian to save Mason, or watch Mason die again in order to protect Christian. It was impossible. It was not a choice I could ever make. Even if I could ever get my Mason back, I would not make a choice like this. I did not need to lower the fire to walk through it.

"Christian, run." I demanded. "As soon as I tell you to run, you go."

Mason was thrown at my feet, and I knelt down to him, touching him just one more time. It made every single emotional bomb go off inside of me. He was in fron of me, touching his hand to my cheek.

"Bells, you don't have to do this."

I bit down on my lower lip, looking deep into his wonderful, beautiful, and soulful eyes.

"Yes I do. I will give my life for you always."

I kissed him before feeling hands on my shoulders, pulling me away from Mason, hearing my voice scream out to him.

I gasped, sitting straight up in bed.

"Bellamy?" Yuri's hands were on my shoulders, comforting me instantly. "Are you alright? What is it?"

My heartbeat began to slow and my breathing steadied. "I'm fine.' I lied. "I'm fine. It was just a dream." I started to lay back down, Yuri's arm moving back around me.

I relaxed completely, comforted by Yuri, as I fell into a brand new dream.

The garden was familiar. It was here on campus, on the East end of the Academy. Very few students visited the garden, so lately I had taken to stopping by during my off time to gain a few minutes of clear headedness before dealing with Jesse, or Yuri, or Christian, or any other problems. Today is was especially beautiful as I stepped into the ten by ten enclosure. The yellow tulips were in bloom and their scent was in the air as I sat down, feeling someone sit beside me today. He wasn't really sitting beside me, but it felt nice to think that he was.

"I miss you." I said to him as we enjoyed the quiet company of one another.

His hand twitched, lifting above mine for only seconds before lowering.

"I know."

"I feel lost and lonely without you here."

"I know." He repeated, annoying me by saying the same thing over again. Would I get nothing more from him? Was I so desperate to hear his voice?

There was a shift in the air around me, and I could not deny the cosmic swing that occurred. The air tasted like metal and blood.

"Mase, I don't know what I'm doing here. When we are novices, we think that becoming a Guardian is so much easier, but it isn't. Jesse is…"

"Jesse is lucky to have you as a Guardian." Mason remarked with a firm connotation to his words. "One day he will see. He does not yet know what you have given up in order to help him."

He was speaking, so I went on, even if he wasn't real.

"He doesn't trust me."

"He will soon enough."

I was not about to believe a figment of my imagination. I turned m head to see his eyes gazing back sweetly at mine. I wanted so badly to touch him again, but something inside told me I couldn't. It hurt to see him.

"Bells, you have to move on. You have to move forward."

"How Mason? How am I supposed to move on?"

I don't know. That is for you to decide." He said.

"Why do I have to move on?"

"Bellamy." He kept his eyes focused on me. "You must move on because it is the best thing for us all. You deserve a chance to live your life."

"A life without you." I added.

"You must move on because of the man lying beside you now." Mason mentioned, looking down into the water at our feet.

I stared down with him and saw what he saw. I was asleep in my small room, with Yuri asleep beside me, his arm wrapped around me still, his thumb moving in a circular motion on my shoulder blade. My chest tightened again, and I went to speak.

"He holds you in comfort for himself and for your comfort."

"Mason, I…"

"He could easily fall in love with you, if you let him…and if you let yourself."

"I cannot move on yet Mason. I can't do that without knowing for sure you are okay, or in a good place. Mase, I can't move forward without knowing you can forgive me." I felt tears slipping down my face, but I wasn't crying.

The sweetness within his eyes, turned to despondency. "There is nothing to forgive." I felt that same cosmic movement again. "If anything, it is me who should be asking your forgiveness."

I was used to talking with Mason in my dreams, but this was beginning to creep me out. In my dreams before this, the Mason in my head, the figment I conjured in order to keep him alive with me could not know details like that. Out of nowhere, a set of hands gripped my shoulders, practically shaking me.

"Bellamy, run." Mason warned me. "Run far away from St. Vladimir's. Take Jesse. Go!" He shouted, and I jolted awake.

My eyes were wide, and I could still feel the hands gripping me.

"Bellamy." Yuri's voice cleared through the fog of my dream. "Bellamy."

My eyes focused on him. "Yuri." I touched his face with the tips of my fingers.

It was his hands grasping me in my sleep. He let go, his hands moving then to my back as he lifted me up, bringing me closer to him, embracing me close.

"Yuri, what is it? What's wrong?"

"You were crying." He informed me. "You were crying in your sleep. It woke me, and I tried to wake you."

"I was dreaming." I told him. "I was dreaming and Mason told me to move on with my life."

Yuri just kept holding me, unwilling to let go yet, so I let him, allowing my arms to provide comfort for him in return, wrapping them around him. We laid back down, and soon woke to the sound of my alarm going off. No, it wasn't my alarm I realized. It was my cell phone.

"

CHRISTIAN:

I woke with a severe shock to my whole body, my eyes wide, heart racing, and my nerves sparking with fire magic. I did not have a particular dislike for Queen Tatiana, but I also did not completely trust or get along with the Moroi Queen. She and I would never really see eye to eye, because like most in our society, she judged me first by my name. So, having a nightmare about her, scared the life out of me. And this one was made even more chilling because it involved Bellamy. In the dream, Tatiana had made it abundantly clear that she wanted to destroy Bellamy. But Bellamy, being the mostly selfless and fearless Dhampir she was, gave herself up to save me. She had been willing to be taken, in order to save others. As frightened as I was, I found myself smiling, thinking about a philosophical question Bellamy had once posed. I knew her answer, at least I thought I did, but I had never given her a response in return. The fear in me returned. I had to make sure that she was safe too. We were fighting again, but I didn't care. If she was in trouble…

I was out of bed in second, throwing on clothes. Dimitri and Alberta were here at Court with me and others for the trial, so I hoped that Alberta might be willing to grant me the same favor I had once asked…or rather pleaded for months ago. I didn't need to go pounding on her door. She was still awake, her and Dimitri clearly finishing any of the duties that they took on as Guardians.

"Alberta." I called to her as she was coming down a hallway towards me.

"Christian." She was just as wary of my approach as I was. "You should be asleep. Is Vasilisa alright?"

"She's fine." I assured. "And I was asleep, but I…" How the hell was I supposed to explain that I wanted to talk to Bellamy because I'd had a bad dream? What was I, twelve? Should I be asking her for a night light or a stuffed teddy? I groaned with way more frustration.

"Alberta, I don't know how to explain why I need you to call Bellamy for me right now, but I do. Please." I begged her, seeing the sympathy wash over her.

"I have never fully understood the connection between you and Bellamy, but I cannot deny it either." I was thankful when she pulled out her cell phone, dialing to Bellamy.

After a short conversation, she handed me her phone.

"Thank you." I said.

"Christian?" I heard the tension and terror in her voice immediately. It matched mine.

"Bells, are you okay?"

"Yes Christian." She used that soothing tone she could gather up in moments of bravery. "I'm fine. Are you…"

"I had the strangest dream Bellamy." I couldn't stop myself from giving her every detail, finding myself sitting on the ground, my back to a wall by the end. "I wish I could explain more Bells."

"I'm sure it doesn't mean anything Chris." She said after a long pause. The light tone in her voice made me think she did not believe that either, but what could I say over the phone that wouldn't sound ridiculous?

"I know." I settled on saying instead of arguing. After all, anything we said to each other these days, ended in a fight.

"You had a nightmare." Bellamy sounded farther away. "You called me." Her surprise was laughable. "You had a nightmare while you are at the Moroi royal Court, and you made Alberta call me."

I hid my laugh as best as I could. "Of course I did Bellamy."

There was silence again between us.

"Chris, I'm sorry we have been fighting so much. I hope you know that I would still always give my life for you."

"You're Jesse's Guardian. Not mine."

"Doesn't matter." She said. "I will give my life for Jesse, but I would do it for you too."

"Thank you." I couldn't think of anything better to say to her now.

"I need to learn how to better balance my friendships with my job."

"I'm sorry about all of the inappropriate things I've said too." I apologized to her, wishing we were talking face to face again. "Your life is your life, and you are doing the best you can, especially with Jesse. I shouldn't be so hard on you."

"Thank you." She returned before I heard someone talking to her in the background. "Chris," She returned to me, "I have to go. Dimitri suggested that I take over one of his daytime combat classes during this field training, so I'm going to be late."

"Okay Bells. I'll see you when we get back."

"Sure Christian. And you can tell me all about the trial." She chuckled. "And Chris," she became serious again, "don't worry about the dream. It was just a dream."

"Thanks Bells. Bye."

I hung up, trying to find a way to relax. Bellamy and I were good for now, which made things easier, but that did not mean that the ground beneath us would hold indefinitely.

BELLAMY:

It was days of way more time than I was expecting. Dimitri and Alberta had gone to the Moroi royal Court with a few of the students being involved in the trial of Prince Victor Dashkov, so the Guardian schedules were all screwy and weird until the two returned. Normally, my main priority would be Jesse through the first half of the night, and helping to test the novices for their field experiences, but Dimitri had also suggested to Alberta and Stan, that I take command of a few of his combat classes too. He had others looking over any security troubles that he usually took care of. The school really did need more Guardians. I was happy to finally have the two Guardians returned, because I was exhausted. It was Saturday, so my time was mine while Jesse slept through the beautiful day. On top of all of this, I was on my toes, trying to keep Jesse out of trouble, and it did not help that he was obviously keeping something from me.

"How did it go?" I finally had a chance to ask Dimitri when he found me kicking a soccer ball around on the pitch.

"How did what go?"

"Your Court thing. Did you actually have to testify in front of the Queen?" I was not keen to mention the Moroi Queen too much, after the dreams I'd been suffering from.

"Yes." Dimitri answered me. "It went fine."

Fine. I hated it when he used that word. Fine was enigmatic Dimitri code for ' I'm not giving you details, so please stop prying.'. I backed off slightly and we moved on to other subjects, running a few soccer plays while we talked.

"Bellamy?" We were stopped by Alberta, making her way down onto the field.

Dimitri and I stopped what we were doing, meeting her halfway.

"Welcome back Alberta." I greeted her, receiving a nod of appreciation.

I assumed that most people, Guardians and students alike were not often happy to see the Head Guardian, but I had come to like her. She could be harsh, and overly unyielding at times, but she did her job in a very organized and logical way. I tended to gravitate to the logical, so Alberta Petrov was good in my books.

"Bellamy, Vasilisa Dragomir is asking to speak with you if you have the time."

"During the day?" I questioned.

Alberta shrugged.

"Of course I have time." I agreed.

Vasilisa was waiting just at the top of the bleachers as I left the other two Guardians, Eddie a few yards back. Joining her in the light, I could see under the linen umbrella that covered her that she was here to question me again about Christian.

"Good afternoon Princess." I greeted her nicely.

"He called you." She accused, looking back at me as if she were trying to find whatever secrets that I held between me and Christian Ozera. "He called you and I want to know why." She was incredibly confrontational at the moment, and the fact that she was Christian's girlfriend made this even more uncomfortable.

I cleared my throat. "Princess Vasilisa, I don't think it is my place to…"

"What really happened between you two?" She asked, knowing that Christian and I were friends, but had more than a connection through Strigoi parentage. "He ran to you for some reason and I want to know why Guardian Pearce."

"Because we are friends."

It must be more than that."

This was incredibly uncomfortable and I hated feeling so cornered and vulnerable.

"Look Princess, I am currently feeling very intimidated by you, so if you wouldn't mind going a little bit easier on me, I'd very much appreciate it."

I had clearly rendered her a little speechless because it took the young girl a minute to recover and speak again.

"You are intimidated by me?"

I smiled at her surprise. "Obviously not physically. It's not mental either." I spoke. "It's emotional. "Christian adores you. He would give his life for you. And I know how much you love him in return. I see it when you are together. I love Christian the same way I love Eddie. We are friends."

She sat down across from me as I sat in the best shaded area I could find.

"In that case, you can call me Lissa."

I had to laugh. All it took to get her to become less suspicious of me was admitting my intimidation?

"Call me Bellamy."

We talked more about me and Christian, and I reiterated that our connection was due to the two of us being raised by our aunts, and the Strigoi family members we both claimed. I was not allowed to tell her about my fire magic, so there was much I did not say still. When we finished speaking, Lissa had an appointment she was required to attend.

It was going on early evening by the time I returned to shower and make my way to Yuri's room. A knock on my door made me think I had gotten it wrong. Was Yuri curling up in my room this time? I finished pulling a sweatshirt over my head, pulling my hair out of the back, and opened the door.

"Why am I hearing about you and Yuri sleeping together everyday since I left for Court?" Dimitri demanded to know more, bullying his way into my room. "I didn't get to unpack for five minutes before I start hearing about you sneaking into his room, and him into yours."

He was genuinely angry, almost enraged that I was spending days sleeping beside Yuri. I wasn't sure how to react yet.

"Are you two…Has he convinced you to…"

Insulted. I was getting insulted by his implications that I might be having sex with Yuri, or that Yuri would convince me to do so.

"Dimitri Belikov." I kept myself from shouting at him. "Stop right there. First, you don't have the right to barge in here without being invited. Second, you don't have the right to think you have any say in where I sleep. And third, I don't ask you about, or condemn your sex life." I saw him grind his teeth at the thought of me even hinting around prying into his sex life. Oh sure, he could pry all he wanted, he could scream and yell, but the minute I threaten to even bring it up, there's a problem. "You don't get to dig into my life like that." I stated. "You are jumping to conclusions without any information, and I'm sure I know why." I sat him down, continuing to brush through my wet hair.

"I am not sneaking into Yuri's room." I pointed out. "He does not sneak into mine. I invite him and he invites me." Now he did that furrowed brow thing that showed his objection. I ignored it. "We talk. It's as good as therapy. And then we sleep. We actually close our eyes and sleep."

"Why?" He wanted to know.

"Why do I choose to sleep beside him?" I gathered that was what he wanted to know, so I answered. "Because the nightmares disappear. It is a comfort."

"What could you be talking about for so long?" He was still growling through his words, so I knew he was still angry.

"Everything." I said. "I have been able to talk to him about Mason, Bridgette, being a new Guardian, Jesse, my ability. I talk about it all Dimitri. And in return, he talks to me about Katja, Kiev, St. Basil's, and anything else that helps to keep our nightmares at bay. Do not judge what you do not understand." I ordered.

"Can you not see a shrink and get the same effect?" He whined, causing me to turn and face him.

"He's my friend Dimitri. He and I have found a friendship, and it is something that I have needed."

"But he is still attracted to you."

"And if I am attracted to him?" I offered. "Even if it were an option, it does not mean that I am going to have sex with him. I am nowhere near ready for that step yet."

"So this is you telling me to back off?"

I stayed quiet, appearing to think about his question before answering.

"Yes." I said. "There is nothing going on between me and Yuri except in depth discussions about our lives and sleep. You don't need to worry about me."

Dimitri stood back up, coming to stand in front of me, his hand reaching over to touch my face. "Of course I need to worry about you. I am going to worry."

He would continue to worry. I could not prevent him from protecting me, and most of the time I did not want to. I just had to face the facts that he was going to act like this for a long time to come. I smiled, then politely asking him to leave so that I could finish getting ready.

""Wait." He demanded as I led him out of my room. He moved down the hallway to his quarters in a few steps, disappearing for thirty more seconds before coming back to me with a very large box.

"What is that?"

He set the box down in the doorway, shrugging as he left it to block the door.

"Let's call it a congratulatory gift. Or you can call it a belated birthday gift."

I lowered down to my knees and opened the box to find books. But they weren't just any books. They were Philosophy books. He had everything from Metaphysics to Political and Scientific Philosophy. I sifted through many of the books, pulling one or two out, and continuing to look through them.

"Where did you get these? I…" I stopped short from asking anymore questions, pulling out one of the books he had in this box.

"Do you know how difficult this book is to find?" I questioned him, holding up a copy of 'Leviathan' by Thomas Hobbes. I had read through the first half of it in the library when I'd been here as a student, but pages were missing and I was gone before I had time to finish reading what I could.

"Dimitri, I can't accept this from you. These books are…"

"They are better off in the hands of someone who can read them, understand them, and put them to their intended use." He insisted.

"You still didn't tell me where you got them."

"They belonged to Ivan Zeklos. He too enjoyed Philosophy." He said.

I couldn't think of anything appropriate enough to say to him. My arms found their way around his broad chest and back, hugging him as he tensed.

"Thank you." I said.

His arms carefully hugged back. "You're welcome."

As I let go, I reached down to one of the books I had pulled out of the box. "Read this." I insisted of him, handing over a book.

"Das Kapital." He looked uninterested, but took it from me.

"Don't judge it until you read it." I made the suggestion. "It's not like I'm handing you the 'Communist Manifesto'. You don't need to be a Marxist or even a fan of Marx to understand the history. Too many Moroi and Dhampir focus only within the bubble of our society, but that only gives you so much knowledge." Still Dimitri looked apathetic about the idea of reading this book. "Do me a favor." I said. "Put down the cowboy novels for one week and give this a try. Just the first few pages. If you don't like it, you can go right back to Stetsons, spurs, and lawless communities."

"Are you judging my books?"

"If you can judge mine, I can judge yours." I joked. "But," I turned serious again, "if you promise to read this, I will read one of your cowboy things."

"Deal." He agreed, if only to make me happy, taking the book before going to his room. Soon after, I was on my way to Yuri's room with two of the books I had just received from Dimitri.

On Monday, I found myself in the same place. It was getting rather predictable now. In fact, the predictability was what brought my questions up.

"Just out of curiosity Yuri, what happens when I leave?"

"What do you mean?" He rolled over, my legs unwrapping from his.

"I mean, when Jesse graduates, I will leave here with him."

"And?" He was taking this a little too blasé for my liking.

"And I was wondering how we can sustain this, whatever it is."

"Whatever it is?"

Okay, asking me questions after I asked a question was getting annoying. I did not like it.

"Come on Yuri."

"Bellamy, I told you I'm not looking to hook up with you. We are finally becoming friends, and that has made a big difference in both of our lives." He spoke, changing his shirt as I disappeared into his bathroom to change my clothes, continuing to listen to him. "I have no expectations. And if I have to wait…"

"I won't ask you to wait for me Yuri." I exited fully dressed, pulling my hair into a clip. "I could potentially be just as broken for months or God forbid, years."

"You don't have to ask me to wait." I felt him come to stand behind me, stepping so close I could feel his chest at my back. I wondered if his hands would find me, if his arms would wrap around me again. But just like that, he moved, his body leaving me to need that comfort again. Once the night sky was out again, the stars shining above, and colder air whipping through the trees, Yuri and I separated. I was with Jesse through the first half of his classes still, trying to find any sign that he was up to something that he shouldn't be. I had nothing. Jesse let on about nothing.

It was a full week of silent, mundane activity, until my schedule and organized life was going awry again. Yuri was called to help Dimitri and another Guardian conduct their testing attacks on unsuspecting random novices during the day. It was Sunday, the novice day off, so none would suspect an attack. But that was the point. They needed to expect the unexpected. Stan was supposed to assist Dimitri, but was put on last minute duty at the North Gate, where there had been "activity" reported in the last few days.

So, I was on my own through much of the day. I didn't want to sleep. I didn't want to risk having another nightmare without the safety net Yuri provided. I went for a longer run than usual, and spent much of my time reading. Dimitri had graciously and sweetly gifted me a full box of Philosophy books. I was currently sitting in the lobby, working my way through 'A Critique of Pure Reason' by Immanuel Kant when the door to the building opened. Yuri walked in with a smile on his face. He had a bruise forming on his cheek and his hair was tangled and messy, but he was in a good mood.

"You look pleased." I said, loving the smile on his face. Dimitri walked in a few moments later, looking equally as smug and proud. "So does he. What happened?"

"Rose." Yuri said the name of Christian's current Guardian. "She did amazing. She took on three Guardians."

"Protecting Christian?"

"Protecting Moroi." He informed me. "Which is what these exercises are all about."

"They are." I agreed, and Yuri gave me many of the attack details.

Dimitri had let me in on the specific reason why Rose had "fumbled" against Stan, and I was not one to judge her situation, considering my own. And I would admit to anyone who asked, that with her recent catch-up training from Dimitri, Rose Hathaway had become probably the best novice in the soon to graduate class.

"We also had a problem with alcohol being consumed by students." Yuri turned apprehensive. "And I need to tell you that one student we tested in particular was drinking. It was Dean Barnes."

"Dean?" I sighed heavily "Where was Jesse?"

"Not with him as far as I could tell. It's Sunday."

Well, there was one positive hope in my mind.

Later, Yuri and I met up again, ready to conduct our next attack. We were going after Ryan this time, and I was ready to expel more of my bad emotions again. We were halfway across campus, laughing and joking with each other as we walked together. I noticed how close we were to each other as we walked, his hand brushing against mine as it swung at his side. After a second and third time of his hand and fingers coming into contact with mine, his arm stopped swinging, his fingers finding mine for seconds, separated at the sound of my name.

"Bellamy."

Both Yuri and I turned, distancing ourselves from each other, as I saw Dean coming towards us. He eyed Yuri with unease after doing poorly in his own testing situation, and of course then being caught and chastised for having been drinking.

"Hi Dean." I tried to ease the tension, then spotting the frantic look on Dean's face as he approached.

"Bellamy, I can't find Jesse." He was panicking. "I checked his dorm and the entire Moroi dorm building. I've been to the library, and to the feeders. I can't find him anywhere."

"Relax Dean." I put my hands to his shoulders. "I'm sure he is around somewhere. We'll find him. Hell, he's probably off making out with some random girl." I had to keep Dean calm while keeping my own alarm concealed. If I panicked, Dean and Yuri would do the same. "Come on."

The three of us made our way back towards the dorms, stopped again shortly before reaching them. Eddie was running at full speed, looking for Guardians.

"Bellamy!" He shouted, and even before he spoke, or reached me, the bond I shared with Jesse stung, ripping me apart. I grabbed my arm, wincing, struggling to stay upright. Jesse was scared and angry. He needed me. And I needed to get to him.

"Bells! There is trouble. The Princess is being attacked. We need Guardians."

"It's Jesse." I mentioned to Yuri, and without anything more said, our plans changed.

Yuri and I were off running with Eddie.

"Where are they?" I shouted at Eddie, all of us in full sprints. "I don't know which way to go."

"Rose said Northwest end of campus. That way!" Eddie pointed out to a gathering of Dhampir and Moroi moving quickly to the area at our right.

I ran, outrunning both Yuri and Eddie in order to get to Jesse. I caught up to Dimitri, who had also just arrived. My entire body was filling with fire, ready to use it against the person I saw on top of Jesse, punching, kicking, and hurting him more and more. Eddie was at my back, immediately moving in to separate the fight with me. Only then did I see that it was Rose Hathaway who'd been trying to kill Jesse. Eddie grabbed her with both arms, pulling her off, and dragging her back as I went for Jesse. He was lying on the ground perfectly still, bleeding and bruised. He was hurt. I was too late. I had failed. Rose had just destroyed my Moroi and my life. I put my hand to Jesse's. He was colder and paler than normal. He was not dead, but he was so close. I couldn't move him, but I was startled as Lissa knelt down at his other side, placing her hands to him. In a matter of seconds, Jesse was breathing normally again, and the wounds he had sustained were non-existent. Even after hurting her, Lissa was helping Jesse. I wanted to be horrified by what I had witnessed, but knew how hypocritical it would be of me. I was a Dhampir with Moroi magic. Again, I was in no position to judge others with different magical gifts.

"Thank you." I opted to say to her.

Lissa looked up at me with sympathy.

"I'm sorry." I said. "I didn't know."

Moments later, I was helping Jesse up as much as possible as he and his group of "club members" were all being rounded up. Jesse still needed medical attention, so I was tasked to taking him straight to hospital. There were going to be severe consequences for this. Yuri was put on duty to take the others to Kirova's office. No doubt she would find some special and extremely cruel punishment for Jesse. He probably deserved it, but still I felt bad for him. Well, part of me felt bad. The other part was hurt and angry that he had repeatedly lied to me.

"You can't blame yourself for this." I heard Yuri's voice say to me as I lifted my head from my hands, sitting in the sterile white hallway outside of the room Jesse was being checked in. Doctors had gone in and they had come out, continuing each time to say nothing. Was Jesse okay? Was he still hurt? Yuri sat down beside me, his hand on me shoulder.

"Who else am I supposed to blame?"

"Jesse."

"I do blame Jesse. But I should have known better Yuri. I knew he was up to something. Christian warned me, and I did nothing. There were signs. Others were hurt before this, but…"

"It's not your fault Bellamy." He tried to reassure me.

"Not my fault." I repeated quietly with disbelief. "I could've prevented this."

"Bell…"

"Guardian Pearce." One of the nurses finally addressed me, exiting the room that Jesse was in. "You can see Mr. Zeklos now."

I was up in a flash, moving through the door, ready to rip Jesse apart.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" I pushed by the remaining medical personnel as they slowly left me to yell at the Moroi. "You attacked Vasilisa Dragomir. She is the last of her name. If you and your moronic friends had really hurt her any more…" I put my hand to my forehead. "Jesse, she is protected under Tatiana Ivashkov. What the hell was going through your head?"

He opened his mouth to respond, and I stopped him.

"You cannot possibly have any sort of defense right now. There is no excuse or explanation you can give that will be good enough to justify what you have done."

"I was attacked too." He spoke, lying back dramatically. "You said that you wouldn't let her touch me. You lied to me Bellamy."

I was going to throw a fireball at him. "I lied?" There was no keeping my temper under control. "You will not blame me for this Jesse!" I yelled at him, startling him in the process. "I asked you to tell me what was going on with you. I gave you plenty of opportunities to tell me." I paced back and forth.

"We wanted to change the Guardian laws. You all think that…"

"Holy Hell Jesse, what makes you think you have any chance of changing those laws? They have been the laws for good reason. They are the way they are for good reason." I lectured. "They may seem unfair, but you of all people have no soapbox to stand on. You are the last person who should be complaining about Guardian assignment Jesse Zeklos!"

"What is that supposed to mean?" He conveniently forgot his conveyer belt of Guardians, but I was not going to give him a response.

"And compulsion?" I went on. "What was your plan there?" I clearly showed him that I knew more than he realized. "What could you do? Walk into the Moroi Court and compulse an entire Council and the Queen? Great plan, but you aren't as smart as you think you are. You fail to realize that while the Queen and her Council have some say in Guardian assignment to Moroi, it is not just them. You have to contend with the Guardian Council, and believe me, a Moroi getting anywhere near them is damn near impossible. If you think a bunch of Moroi students… spoiled royal Moroi students who don't fully understand the laws, are going to get them to blink let alone listen, you're dreaming. That is not going to happen. If you want to create changes Jesse, this was not the way to start."

He was actually listening, and I think by the look on his face, I had struck a few points of logic in his brain.

A knock on the door halted my loud lecture, giving Jesse a short reprieve. I opened the door to see Alberta standing with Yuri now.

"You are needed immediately in the Headmistress's office." Alberta stated, and I looked back at Jesse.

"You are to go straight from here to your dorm. You do not move from there. I will check in after I'm finished being blamed by the Headmistress for what you have done."

I had done my job. Jesse looked contrite now. "Bellamy, what will happen? Will they take you from being my Guardian?"

Considering the fact that I was Jesse's last hope of having a Guardian, losing his Guardian was not something he was prepared for, but I could not deny that it was a possibility.

"I don't know Jesse." I said, walking out the door. "Straight to your dorm!" I yelled once more, making sure he understood.

As I arrived to Headmistress Kirova's office, I walked into the room, feeling like public enemy number one. Not only did I have to face the unbelievably intimidating Headmistress, but Jesse's parents too. Both Howard and Ekaterina Zeklos sat in the room, arms crossed, and hard stares directed at me, their Guardians standing near the walls.

"Guardian Pearce." Kirova greeted coldly. "Come in. Sit down."

I sat in an uncomfortable wooden chair to the left of Lord and Lady Zeklos, waiting quietly to know what my fate and Jesse's would be.

"Give us an update on Mr. Zeklos." The Headmistress demanded.

"Jesse is perfectly fine. He is in the hospital, but will be released before we finish here."

"Fine?" Howard Zeklos stood, speaking down to me, as most royal Moroi did to others. "My son is not fine. He was attacked by another student. A Dhampir. Where were you?"

"I was doing my job." I said, seeing the vein in the man's forehead twitching with anger. Was I not supposed to answer the question? It could not have been rhetorical. "I was searching for him, running the entire campus." I wanted to mention the fact that his acting Guardian was off drinking, but was not about to get Dean involved or in anymore trouble. Jesse was my responsibility in the end, so I had to take this heat.

"I was doing my job when this ridiculous and awful tattoo went off like an alarm."

"That is the point of the tattoo." Howard growled. "But perhaps you are right. Perhaps it was given to you too soon."

"I must disagree with Lord Zeklos." I heard another voice enter the conversation.

"Guardian Bowen." I acknowledged.

He spoke from the speaker phone on Kirova's desk. "Hello Bellamy." He said. "I have heard nothing but good things about Guardian Pearce and her commitment to the young Zeklos royal. She has done her job." He defended. "But she made a mistake."

"Her mistake could've cost my son his life."

"His mistake could've cost the life of the Dragomir Princess." Rhys argued with Howard as I continued to sit silently.

"We must come to a decision." Kirova said. "A fitting punishment must be made for Jesse Zeklos. This was not his first offense." She was all too happy and ready to punish another student. "The others have been expelled from St. Vladimir's."

The room erupted with Howard and Ekaterina's disagreements.

I was slowly being brought to heights of disbelief and fear all at once. Jesse was still scared and I could feel all of it within me. My disbelief however, stemmed from what I now listened to.

"Expulsion?" I was dismayed by the extreme suggestion. "That would ruin Jesse's future. He would have no future. You cannot expel him." I saw Kirova about to start arguing with me. "Please."

"He attacked Vasilisa Dragomir." The Headmistress loudly debated. "The Moroi Queen is…"

"I'm sure she's livid, and I am aware of what Jesse has done, and I do not condone it one bit. But it is no reason to take away any chance he has at a future. Please." I was pleading for Jesse. After what he had just done, I was desperately defending and attempting to save him. Saving him was my job after all. "Guardian Bowen, please. There must be a better solution."

"If you can think of a better resolution to the problem Guardian Pearce, we are listening."

Off of the top of my head, I had nothing. I was put on the spot, everyone staring at me again. As the others went on arguing back and forth about a possible expulsion from St. Vladimir's, and again discussing what the Queen's thoughts were, one idea sprang to my mind. It was not a perfect solution, but it would allow for some distance and contrition on Jesse's part. Slowly, I started to talk, silencing everyone else as I explained and offered a potential solution-one that could save Jesse's life and future. It took me, Guardian Bowen, and Headmistress Kirova a full hour and a half to make the necessary changes, but after all that time, Jesse and I had a new path.

It was all set by the time Yuri threw open the door, standing inside the doorframe, looking terrified, frantic, and battle ready."

"Bellamy, I need to talk to you. Now."

"Yuri, I'm in the middle of…" Just then the communicator on Kirova's desk rang uncontrollably.

"Bellamy." Yuri got my attention. "Buria." He said, and I felt myself weaken. The Guardian drills we trained and conducted were clear and precise. This was not a word that was used as a joking matter. 'Buria' meant storm in Russian, and it was used only when there were Strigoi outside of the Academy. It meant there were many Strigoi.

"Where?" I asked Yuri.

"On campus."

Not only did I go weak, I felt ill.

"The Moroi." I said.

"All students are confined to their buildings which are being guarded." He explained. "We have to go Bellamy."

"Yes." I agreed. "I have to go. I have to get to Jesse." It was funny how he was my biggest problem and my first thought in this situation.

"Bellamy." Yuri argued. He wanted me out in the field fighting, but that was not my priority.

"Yuri. Jesse is my responsibility. I'm going to him."

Kirova was off of the communicator with whichever Guardian had called her, and looking terrified. Her Guardians were in the doors seconds later, escorting her and Jesse's parents away, their personal Guardians following, looking as though they too wanted to fight.

"Guardian Pearce." I heard Jesse's mother say.

I turned to see the fear in her eyes. It was not fear of Strigoi, but fear of losing her children to Strigoi.

"Go. Get to safety." I said. "I will protect Jesse with my life. And I will make sure Dane is safe and protected by Guardians."

She nodded.

Go." I insisted. "There is no time for you to hesitate."

The three disappeared through a secret passage in Kirova's office, designed for safety purposes, and Yuri and I were off, rushing out of the building. There were Strigoi on campus, so my defenses and entire alert system was fully functioning. My stake was in my hand, ready to strike. Across campus, a few yards away, there were Guardians and novices fighting. Yuri and I did not stop yet. I made it to Jesse's dorm in record time, bursting through the door, with Yuri at my back.

"Jesse!"

Jesse and Aaron's dorm room was full of Moroi, both royal and non-royal together, most wondering why they had been gathered up here, but having a dorm on the top floor meant in dangerous situations, this was the gathering point. It was the safest place for them. There were a few novices still trying to keep their Moroi calm, while not telling them what sort of danger they were about to face. Wrong idea.

I stepped up beside Ryan Aylesworth, who was trying to sooth Camille Conta. Ryan was doing his best, but a panicking Moroi girl was not his strong suit. Ryan was often quick to point out the mistakes of others, but ignore his own faults. This was going to be his test. Instead of facing off with me and Yuri as I had planned, we were all going to face the ultimate test. The Guardians had decided we were outnumbered, so if novices wanted to fight, they were allowed to do their job too.

"Camille, have a seat. I will have someone get you water. You need to stay calm right now."

"Ryan," I turned to him, pulling him away from Camille, "you need to focus."

"Right." He said. "First thing I need to do is get Camille to safety. Come on." He held his hand out to her, but I stopped her.

"Wrong answer."

Ryan looked confused, so I explained.

"You are right to get her to safety first." I commended. "But wrong to think that you can get her from here to her dorm in the building next door."

"It's across the quad from here."

"Doesn't matter if it's five steps from here. If here is safe, here she stays Ryan. It will be damn near impossible for the threat to get up here. They'll get to every floor but this one."

"Why is that?" I had not noticed that Dean was here with Jesse until he questioned me, and I was so glad he did.

Yuri stepped up beside me, his palm at my back again, stake still ready in his other hand. "Because, to get to this floor, the enemy has to get through us first."

I looked around us, seeing that I had Yuri, Dean, Ryan, and Shane fighting with me.

"You and Shane can hold this door." I stated to Yuri. "Keep the floor clean." I turned my head. "Dean, Ryan, and I will move lower and clear the next three floors down."

As I put my hand to my stake, pulling it out in defense of Moroi lives, I could feel the tension radiating from across the room to me, quickly rising. My head whipped over to see Jesse staring back at me.

"Jesse." I said out loud, going straight over to him.

"Bellamy." I heard him call out before I reached him and Aaron. "What is going on?" He was not questioning me about our fates, but the current trouble on campus.

I considered lying to both men, but knew if I did, I would risk Jesse trying to escape. The last thing I needed was him on campus with Strigoi on the loose.

"Jesse," I took his hand with mine, sensing his anxiety even more, "I need you to trust me right now. I need you to stay put. I need you to keep everyone calm."

"Calm? Why?" He and Aaron questioned.

"Strigoi." I was honest with him. "There are a lot of Strigoi on campus right now." That was nowhere near comforting. I had to do a little damage control with both me. "Jesse," I made him look me in the eye, "you have got to stay calm and stay put right now." I slowly sat him down on his couch. "This is a life or death situation." I sat beside him. "Keeping you alive is my only goal right now."

"Don't go Bellamy." I heard him say, his eyes closed as his head bowed down. His request was a shock to me. "I don't want you to go out there."

"Jess, it's my job to go out there. It is my job to fight these things so that you don't have to."

"What if you don't come back?"

"Jesse, this is not my first Strigoi rodeo." I made a joke that he did not understand. "I'm coming back Jesse. I still need to finish yelling at you for what you did to Lissa."

"Promise?" He was making me promise to survive and return.

"I promise." I said to him, placing my free hand atop his. "You and I will have a long in depth and heated discussion when I get back here." I shifted a few strands of his hair off of his forehead in a friendly gesture, making him smile slightly before I stood, readying myself for the fight ahead. "When we leave, you lock the door, and any windows. You and Aaron barricade any entrance with whatever you can."

We left the Moroi secure in the dorm room, guarding at different sections. Yuri was not happy to be fighting away from me, but I was not about to let three novices run down these floors and take on Strigoi on their own, especially after their abysmal scores.

"Protect this door." I demanded of Yuri before he let me go.

"They are safe. You protect yourself." He ran a thumb along the side of my face, letting me go then.

I didn't want to think about how comforted I felt by his touch in that moment, but it was all I could think about as I led Ryan and Dean down to the floor beneath us. There were Guardians at te base of the building, but we got only four floors down before Strigoi were coming towards us in this new battle. Once the fighting began, it was all a blur. I was not sure how everything was fairing, or how Ryan and Dean were doing. If their training testing had been any clue, I would not have said well, but both men were fighting hard. This was not just about protecting the Moroi on campus, but also about survival. I could hear behind me that they were still alive. At one point, we were all fighting together, ganging up on Strigoi. A few got passed us, and it angered me to think of them getting anywhere near that top floor, but I knew that Yuri and Shane were on our side.

Being pushed, grabbed, thrown around like a doll did nothing to keep me from fighting. These evil creatures wanted to do nothing more than kill. But, I had a single thought. There was another talent that I had, that I could use. No one would know, and if the Council came after me for using my fire, I could easily explain that we were under siege, and outnumbered. After driving my stake into the Strigoi I fought, I stepped back a single step, and closed my eyes for a few seconds, bringing my fire forward, feeling it rise within me, and feeling it move out towards the enemy.

"Whoa." I heard when I opened my eyes. Dean stepped back with me, watching muted screams roll over all of the creatures in front of us. "Where did the fire come from?" They quickly started to fall then.

"Run!" I shouted at Dean, unable to see where Ryan had disappeared to. "Run!" I repeated as Dean stared back at me.

He was off before me, running up the stairwells to help any fights still continuing on the upper levels of the building. I was behind him after enough time, hurrying to assist Yuri, and see that Jesse was alive. One floor from the top, I was grabbed by two much stronger arms, thrown back down a case of stairs, and found myself within another fight. One of the Strigoi who had made it by me and Dean was waiting.

This one was as big as Dimitri, and stronger. He was faster too. He came at me with everything he had. So, as I jumped up to my feet, I thought about all of the training and fights I had with Dimitri.

"Bellamy!" Dean's voice called as I fought.

He had come back, but I wasn't about to stop fighting.

"Dean, go!" I commanded. "I've got this." I said just before I was picked up and thrown down into the hard floor, my right shoulder hitting the edge of a stair.

My head pounded and I saw starry figures within my vision as pain shot through my whole body. I was pinned to the ground by this Strigoi, fighting back as his teeth tried over and over again to find contact with my neck. My hands were so busy keeping him away, that I couldn't get to my stake. I'd had it in my hand when I fought before, but when I had started to run upstairs, it was replaced to my side. I had to do something before I got myself killed. I used my elbow to swing around and punch this thing in the face, making contact with a jawbone, phasing him only long enough to find my stake The battle was over in seconds after that. I was exhausted, unable to move yet, but my only thought still was of Jesse.

"Bellamy." The voice I heard now, belonged to Yuri. His footsteps were pounding down stairwells.

"Yuri." I sounded so out of breath.

He was with me in no time.

"You're alive." He picked me up, setting me to my feet when I yelled in pain.

"We need to get to the lounge." He insisted. "Guardians are gathering there. We need to get updated and form more plans."

"Jesse?" I asked him, needing to know

"Jesse is fine. He is safe Bellamy."

"I need to see for myself first."

Yuri helped me all the way back to Jesse's dorm room. We pushed our way in past barricades against the door and there were more arms around me.

"Bellamy." Jesse sounded relieved to see me.

"Good. You are alive." I stood in place, staring back at him.

"I need to go and see that my parents are safe." He was insisting, but I wasn't going to let him go running off on campus. "And my brother. He's…"

"No Jesse."

"But…"

"No." I told him. "You are getting on a plane. Actually, we are getting on a plane." I had to be the one to tell him this, and it couldn't wait any longer. Things had been delayed after Strigoi got on campus. "Because of your little stunt with the Princess, you have been transferred to St. Solomon's. You will finish school there."

"What?!" Jesse was shocked. He was genuinely surprised that he was having to answer for his "crimes". "You are supposed to protect me Bellamy. You can't let this happen. I can't be move to the United Kingdom."

"I am protecting you Jesse. It was either this or expulsion. I told you before that not every decision or path would be easy, but I'll always do what is best for you."

"And my parents agreed with this? They wouldn't."

"They did Jesse. It's done."

I heard Yuri's phone ring a second before mine. He picked his up and as I listened to Alberta go on about an immediate meeting, my head turned to Yuri.

"We have to go." He mouthed, and I nodded, hanging up my phone.

"Guardians were supposed to be packing your things, but seeing as we have a Strigoi problem, you will have to pack your own belongings Jesse." I instructed. "I have to go take care of a few things. You have one hour to finish."

I left Jesse to pack his things as other Guardians began to appear through the building. Some had been down a few more floors, fighting, and just outside of the building. Moroi started to return to the halls, guided to other safe houses. Yuri and I were on our way to the lounge, stoped just outside of the building. I came to an abrupt halt, seeing the blonde figure standing at attention, her black uniform as perfect as always, and the recognizable tattoos along her neck.

"Bridgette!" I exclaimed.

She turned, her smile as bright as mine as I ran to her, her arms around me instantly.

"Bridgette, what are you doing here?" My surprise was never so clearly heard, despite being thrilled to have Bridgette with me again.

"Janine called me. I'm on assignment. How did Strigoi get into the Academy? And, where have you been?"

Where had I been? Seriously? "Well, a white rabbit ran by me, so I chased him, fell down a hole, and here I am."

Her expression showed the dislike for my sarcasm.

"It's not like I was taking a spa day Bridge." I said. " I've been putting out fires in every direction. First I was in the Headmistress's office with Lord and Lady Zeklos, and Rhys Bowen. I managed to keep Jesse from getting expelled, but not with consequences. Then Yuri and I got caught in the dorms, fighting Strigoi trying to get to the Moroi. And now here I am. But, I cannot stay."

"Great. You are here." Dimitri interrupted us, coming towards the three of us standing in place.

The tension between him and Bridgette was still somewhat visible, but something in Dimitri was changed. I wasn't able to place it.

"Come on. We have to go. Guardians are meeting inside to make a plan. Dhampirs and Moroi were taken. We are going to…"

"I'm not." I took a step back from Bridgette, who went almost pale with disappointment.

"Bellamy, this is your job. You are a Guardian."

"Yes Bridge, I am." I agreed. "And, I have a duty to Jesse first."

"He is fine Bellamy. The students are being taken to a safe place."

"Not Jesse. He's being transferred." I explained, the fear in me rising all over again.

"Transferred where?"

"St. Solomon's." I said. "Effective immediately. And where Jesse Zeklos goes, I go too." I turned to Bridgette. "I told you that I kept Jesse from being completely expelled."

"You said there were consequences."

I nodded. "Being expelled would ruin his future. I talked Rhys into helping me get Jesse transferred instead. It was the only way. He is so close to…"

"He attacked Lissa!" We all heard Rose Hathaway say defiantly from behind us. "His punishment is to be transferred? That's bull!"

"Rose." Janine Hathaway warned as she appeared behind Bridgette.

"No." I agreed. "Rose is right. It isn't a fair punishment, but Jesse is royal and our society runs through a Justice system that often caters to them. It is unfortunate, but he will pay for his mistakes Rose." I promised. "I will make sure he pays."

"Bellamy." I heard Bridgette's soft tone. "When do you leave St. Vladimir's"

"I've got to go pack my things now and meet Jesse in less than an hour."

"I'll help you pack." She offered.

I refused. "No. You are needed here. Strigoi have our friends." I quieted. "They have my friends. Bridgette, you and Dimitri are the best trackers we have. He knows the area and you know how to find Strigoi. You have to stay."

And if I had ever thought that there would be nothing more difficult than losing Mason, leaving St. Vladimir's, leaving my friends during this time of crisis, was killing me. I didn't know where Christian had gone. Hearing that Rose Hathaway had allowed him to become part of the fight did not sit well with me, but he was alive. I knew that much. I didn't know if Eddie was still alive. News on the capture front was that during the battle, he'd been taken by the enemy. I hated to think of him out there, in a position of being at the Strigoi mercy again. My heart cried for him. But, I had to go now. This was the only way I was going to be able to save Jesse-in more ways than one. I was not willing to let him lose his life. And if I let him get expelled from school so close to graduating, his life would be over. There would be very little for him to do or become if that happened. Jesse needed to grow, and that was not going to happen here. Not now, and not yet. I was also saving him from a Strigoi attack or any further battles here. I had just been in a heavy battle with more Strigoi in one place than I had ever thought possible, and along with the other Guardians and even many Dhampirs, I received a brand new tattoo, signifying that I'd been in this horrible fight. I was now keeping Jesse from any more of the tragedy and violence.

I said my short farewells to Dimitri and Alberta, unable to say goodbye, instead promising to see them again, and I said short goodbyes to other Guardians I had come to know and befriend. I was not at all surprised when Yuri insisted on seeing me and Jesse to our waiting plane. Bridgette also insisted on tagging along, walking at my side as I made my way to meet Jesse.

"You have become a much stronger person since I saw you last." Bridgette said, watching me with what looked like curiosity. "And you will become even stronger for doing this."

I knew she had a good point, but walking away made me feel like more of a coward. Once we picked up Jesse, and he and Bridgette finished sizing each other up, the last of our things were loaded onto the lower sections of the plane. Leaving me and Bridgette to talk, Yuri was quick and happy to get Jesse onto the plane, making sure things were safe.

"Pick a seat, sit down, and strap yourself in." I commanded Jesse, in case he had any ideas of defying Yuri. "We have a long flight ahead of us, so we are going to have a long talk."

I turned to Bridgette after, seeing the pleased and proud expression she gave.

"Are you sure you don't want to see a doctor before you leave?" She asked, but I shook my head.

In the fight, I had come away with multiple bruises, strains, a possible concussion, and an out of joint shoulder that Yuri helped me temporarily fix, but nothing had broken or even fractured. I was lucky.

"No. I just need to get Jesse overseas, and let everything calm down. I feel like I have made so many bad decisions in my life so far-decisions that have gotten people killed and decisions that have changed the lives of others, even if they were not ready." I referred to Bridgette's Council seat. "But, I feel like I am doing the right thing this time. I'm saving a life. I'm doing what is right for Jesse. That is…that has to be more important."

I stopped rambling as Bridgette put her hand to my shoulder.

"I am so proud of you Bellamy. You have had to grow up so much more in such a short time. But you finally understand."

"Understand what?" I asked, concerned by her proud speech.

"A selfless Guardian is one of the most dangerous types of Guardians." She explained. "You understand what it means to truly be a Guardian. It is not only about killing Strigoi. It is being able to make the sacrifices and decisions to benefit Moroi."

I smiled. "At least I'll be back in England. I miss having a proper cup of tea."

"Always the optimist." Bridgette joked, putting her arms around me again. "You will do great Bells."

"I'm going to miss you." I whispered.

"It will be no different Bells. We will see each other soon enough."

I hugged her tighter before letting her step back. I thought she might go straight to find Janine again, but like the ever present and overbearing parental figure, she waited a short distance away until I finished talking to Yuri.

Yuri came down the steps of the plane slowly, his eyes on me the entire time. He stood as close as I would allow him to.

"Jesse is practically duct taped to his seat." He smiled at me, trying to make me laugh, but I was in no laughing mood.

"I don't want to lose our friendship so soon Yuri." I confessed. "Just because I am leaving, that shouldn't mean that we should stop talking, should it? I feel like I am finally getting to know you."

His eyes were still settled on me, watching for some final clue to what I wanted. "Why would we lose our friendship Bellamy?" He asked. "Because we cannot fall asleep beside one another?" He placed his index finger under my chin, lifting my eyes up to his. "That is not what brought us closer together." His chin lowered a few degrees, his eyes gaining that softer sexier gaze: the one that drove me a little mental if I were being honest. He gave a long sigh, his fingers touching to mine as our hands stayed at our sides.

Bridgette was not subtle about her presence being made known again. Yuri looked up at her, taking his hand away from mine.

"She doesn't like me."

"She doesn't know you." I countered. "She doesn't know that you are the reason I am able to start mourning Mason. She doesn't know that the only reason I am functioning today is because there is a man here, a Guardian, who is making me feel again."

"Thank you Bellamy." Yuri said. "я ніколи не думав , що я відчуваю себе так багато для однієї людини коли - небудь знову . (ya nikoly ne dumav , shcho ya vidchuvayu sebe tak bahato dlya odniyeyi lyudyny koly - nebudʹ znovu)

His Ukranian was still as perfect as his Russian, sparking my interest to attempt learning the language.

"Part of me doesn't want to go; doesn't want to get on that plane." I took his hand with mine, feeling the effortlessness of the action. "Part of me does not want to leave, Guardian duty be damned."

I heard him give a short nervous laugh. "And the other part?"

"The other part knows that I don't have a choice. I don't get to walk away from Jesse."

"Bellamy." He said my name with so much emotion in his voice, and I only wanted him to keep holding my hand.

"Yuri. Please don't look at me like that." I said.

"Why not?" His voice became a whisper.

"Because I can't stay. Because I cannot take it with me." I sat down on the lower step of the plane, Yuri lowering himself in front of me, sitting on his knees.

"I'm scared Yuri." I admitted to him quietly, his hand taking hold of mine.

"I would be worried if you were not scared." His hand was still linked with mine, and for the first time, I wanted it to stay that way. "Truth or dare." He offered a choice.

"What?" I snapped back to our short slow farewell. I had discussed pieces of my relationship with Christian and how it had started with Yuri, venting one day and clearing my head.

"Come on Bells. Pick one."

"Truth." I chose, knowing that the last time I played this game, I got myself into lots of trouble.

Yuri's other hand lifted up, twirling a strand of short hair around his finger. "That small part of you that knows you have to go with Jesse-the part that doesn't want to go…"

"It's not such a small part of me." I said, getting him to smile.

"Is there any part of that part of you that might want to keep talking as often as we do?"

"All of me wants that Yuri." I told him, on the verge of tears.

"Is there any part of you that thinks this, between us, this friendship, could turn into more someday?"

I shook my head. "You only get to ask one question in truth or dare."

He quieted, considering a response I assumed. "That one. Answer that one."

I laughed. I had to laugh. "I will answer that question when we talk again, when you call me." Yuri had my cell phone number and I had his. We could maybe continue to talk and get to know each other.

"Okay." He agreed, bringing me to stand, his palms at my waist, holding me in place for those few seconds before I put my arms around him, hugging him, and making him promise to keep our contact, to call me, and to be safe as he followed other Guardians into the rescue and retrieval operation about to occur.

He stepped back, letting me climb the few steps to the door of the plane, but before I reached the door, I stopped, turning one more time.

"Yuri!"

He spun back around. He had not reached Bridgette, who still waited. I rushed back down the steps to him.

"Truth or Dare?"

"Dare." He answered.

I nodded, taking a deep breath. "Kiss me back." I challenged. "I dare you."

I lifted myself up to him, bringing my mouth to his, hesitating for only a second or two before taking this leap. I felt his mouth on mine, kissing me back, his soft lips moving with mine, his hands moving over my back, keeping me close, and my fingers in his hair, so many emotions mingling and changing in me. I pulled back after a period of time, knowing I was only prolonging the inevitable

"You kissed me on a dare Bells. It still doesn't count." Yuri said, happy that I had kissed him, but worried about the circumstances.

"No Yuri. I kissed you because I wanted to."

"Now I really don't want you to go." He smiled and so did I, backing away from each other only after he kissed my cheek once more.

"I will talk to you soon Bellamy."

I stepped onto the plane, sitting down with enough time to see Bridgette and Yuri disappear, keeping my bubbling emotions in check.

"Hey Bellamy?" I heard Jesse say, sitting beside me as we started to take off.

"Yes?" I was expecting some sarcastic or inappropriate comment from him, surprised by what he did say.

"I trust you." He firmly stated.

I turned to face him. "I'm glad to hear that, but we still have a lot to talk about."