Disclaimer: I don't own VA nor the characters, just my storyline...

Chapter 38

Mom rang Kirova to say that we'd landed and that we were on our way back to our dorms to sleep. We'd decided to meet in Dimitri's room as I was still paranoid about bugs... Before we went inside I pulled Dimitri aside. The others were itching to know what went on in the conference room, but they knew we wanted to be alone.

Dimitri pulled me into his embrace where I took a deep breath, letting his scent flood into me. "How bad was it?" I just squeezed him tighter, my throat started to tighten as I thought about how close I came to losing him, how I could still lose him.....again. I couldn't let go, I just hugged him close.

"Let's just say that when I tell everyone what she said, you need to be at the door with my mother so that Christian doesn't get out, maybe Adrian too. Dimitri, she has me backed into a corner...." He pushed me back so that he could look at me.

"What did she say?" He looked so worried.

"She knows about us. I don't know if I told you or not, but a little while ago, she thought that I was after Adrian and she warned me to stay away from him. She wants him to be with Lissa." He nodded, so I must have told him. "She told me that she will overlook our indiscretion and keep from expelling you and from jail, if I ensure that her plan for Adrian & Lissa comes true."

"So she's blackmailing you." I nodded.

"We just have to make it seem that it's all going to plan until we get assigned. Then she can't do anything about it." He shook his head....

"No, she can still pull me as a guardian.....and you."

"What are we going to do?" I said in a whisper.

He studied me for a few seconds and then said, "Come on, you need to let the others know." He took my hand and we walked into his room.

My mother was standing at the doorway where Dimitri joined her. I walked into the middle of the room where everyone had already found somewhere to sit. I could see everyone wanted to know what had gone on, but waited for me to gather my thoughts.

"Alright Rose," said Christian, "What was that little play for back at Court? You said you'd explain..."

"Okay," I said. "My mother told me that I didn't do as good a job of hiding my thoughts and feelings at Court as I thought I'd done, so you are all probably aware that something.....didn't go so good in there." Get on with it Rose, said Lissa through our bond.

"What happened Rose?" Asked Adrian.

"Well what some of you here don't know is that some months ago, before what happened to Dimitri, I was asked to a meeting with the Queen. She was under the assumption that I was after you." I glanced at Adrian but he had a distant look in his eyes... "To make a long story short, she wanted Adrian with Lissa. She still does."

Christian jumped up out of his chair with a murderous look in his eyes and without saying anything, he flew to the door as I knew he would where Dimitri grabbed him.

"Let go of me!" he yelled.

"Settle down Christian, you have to hear everything..." Christian stared at him with rage; I thought fire was suddenly going to fly out of his eyes.... "There's more...."

"More...?" said Lissa. I looked back to Adrian and he looked as mad as Christian, he just had more control over himself.

"Guys...." I said, "She told me in no uncertain terms what would happen to Dimitri and me if I didn't help her." She threatened you and Dimitri? Asked Lissa.... I nodded to her. I could feel the anger flare out of her, those same primal, dark feelings that she had after Jesse had tortured her, the blackness started to rise in her as it did in me, hatred start to burn in my stomach, more than my own feelings in the conference room. Blood pumped in my ears and I started to slip into fight mode.....I became aware of someone's arms around my arms and torso, then more arms, more people holding me down as I screamed in rage....

In the distance...... "Roza..... Roza......calm down....." I couldn't think, just fight......

"Rose, shhh..... Stop, I'll take it away...." It was Lissa.... I heard her even through my rage and I knew she couldn't do that. We didn't know what effect Spirit would have on the babies.... I tried to stop her, but no-one listened to me. The rage began to subside and the red haze that clouded my vision started to fall away, I could feel the familiar cold & hot flush of her healing..... I looked up into the worried eyes of Lissa & Dimitri.

"Lissa, you shouldn't have done that. I'm so sorry...." My mother still had hold of clearly angry Christian.

"It's alright; I only did a little bit. You're going to have to do the rest though." I nodded. Adrian still held me around my torso; he'd seen me take the blackness from Lissa and had me before I lost it. He'd yelled for help and Alberta, Pavel, Sergei & Dimitri raced over to hold me down. As Dimitri's soothing voice calmed me more, I saw the knowing look on Mark's face, he'd felt this before himself, and I suddenly realised that these emotions....feelings.... really were breaking me.

I tried to relax and Adrian whispered in my ear... "Are you okay Little Dhampir? You're not going to go kill anyone are you? I'd hate to see you go to jail..." I heard the smile in his voice when he said the last part. I turned to face him.

"Thank you Adrian, you saw it didn't you?" He nodded, "I'm okay. You can let go now, I promise I won't murder anyone.....yet." I said to them all.

He studied me a little longer and then let go, but turned me around to face him. "Rose, this was a bad one. As she gets stronger, you get flooded with more blackness. You need to be careful." He whispered to me. I knew this was true, I could feel it getting stronger and stronger... I nodded and then turned to continue the conference room conversation.

"She found out about Dimitri and me through her lover Ambrose." I said looking at Lissa.

"Who?" asked Adrian.

"Your Aunt keeps a lover named Ambrose, surely you've seen him?" he shook his head. "Yeah well, I guess she'd have to keep him hidden.... Lissa & I met him before we lost Dimitri; his Aunt is a psychic and gave us readings... anyway, he must have told her. She said she won't dismiss Dimitri from being a guardian or jail him if I help her." I glanced at mom and Christian; still locked firmly in her hands. "She doesn't know about the babies."

"You just expect me to sit back and do nothing!" growled Christian.

"For the moment, yeah. What do you expect to do Christian, that could possibly have a positive outcome? If you go in there all hands blazing, you'll go to prison yourself and leave Lissa and the babies alone for God knows how many years. You can't use compulsion, she can't be talked out of this.... what do you think you can accomplish? We have to be smarter than her Christian; we have to work on some sort of plan so that we can keep her in the dark, while keeping Dimitri & me out of jail. Now at the moment, I really don't have any idea how we're going to accomplish that, but I was kinda hoping that my friends and family would help me there..... I not only have to deal with my own fears, but those of Lissa's as well, and as you've just seen, sometimes they get away from me, so please.....help me work this out." We stared at each other and I saw his anger fall away from his eyes. He nodded to me and relaxed, so my mother let him go.

Dimitri came to stand beside me, "Is there any way to ensure that she can't take us away once we're assigned?"

Adrian spoke up, "There's only one person who can overrule the current Monarch." We all turned to look at him. "Her successor." I looked over to Lissa.

"Lissa, she threatened you too, not physically, but your standing. She said that she'd name you successor if Adrian was with you; I got the feeling that your college education was included in that package. She wants to be able to keep control of the throne and as she can't name Adrian successor, you're the next best thing. And I guess she thinks that she can manipulate you through family ties." Everyone was quiet....

"I can help." Said Oksana. We all turned to look at her. Oksana was the kindest lady, she hated the invasion of mind walking, but she said that she'd plant a memory of Lissa being with Adrian.

"No." Said Robert. "I will take care of this. You don't know what you did for me back in my brother's house Rose. I can do this easily with no risk."

"How?" I asked him.

"I've been at this a long time Rose." He said with a smirk, "Since learning how to control the effects of Spirit, I've found out what I'm really capable of. I know that Lissa is strong in her compulsion, but she's still young, I'm better."

"But you'll get caught, last time was dangerous enough."

He just smiled and placed a hand on my cheek. "I won't get caught Rose, I never do."

I blinked and couldn't work out why I was staring at the wall, everyone was actually.... weird! "Um, where was I?"

"Um," said Oksana, "I said that I could help by planting a memory of Lissa being with Adrian with the Queen."

"Rose," said Lissa, "Maybe you should ask Robert if there's anything he could do when he gets back from seeing Headmistress Kirova."

"Yeah, I will." I looked around the room in confusion, something wasn't right.

"What's wrong Kiz?" my father said from beside me.

I rubbed my forehead with my hand. "Does something not feel right to you?" I asked him. "Like.....something's changed?" I felt so confused all of a sudden.

He thought about this for a minute. "Yeah, a bit." I shook my head; I couldn't work out why I was feeling like this. Maybe I was crazier than I thought I was, after all these up & down feelings of Lissa's were really screwing with my brain lately. We talked for a little while after that, trying to work on some sort of plan, but Lissa & I were so tired.... I wish she'd just have these babies already, I thought to myself... I was suddenly glad that I would never get pregnant if this is what it meant I'd have to go through.... One by one everyone left to go back to their rooms because graduation was tomorrow, this left Dimitri & I alone....in his room....and I was very aware that we were alone.

"Can I stay?" I whispered. He didn't move, he just stared at me, taking in every inch of me with his deep brown eyes. My breathing started to increase along with my heart rate, then our eyes met and he smiled as he crossed the few feet between us.

Hmmm...... Where did Robert go???? Nobody knows..... Except me of course! Hehehehe

Something big is coming; I can feel it in my bones..... LOL! Can you all feel it guys... Keep up the reviews guys... I want to know if you all still like my story... Is it getting too big do you think?? I didn't plan it to be this big! :) Thanks everyone, Sandy.