Okay, so I do know that this was forever in the making, but I had a lot of things to wrap up. Anyway, here it is and please remember to review!

Rose's point of view:

I must have dozed off, for when I came through, a court employed attendant was calling my name repeatedly. "Councilmember Hathaway? Councilmember Hathaway, do you hear me? Miss Hathaway?!" She kept asking until I finally turned around to face her.

"I am sorry. What?" I asked, having not heard a single word of what she had been saying.

She sighed deeply, seeming both annoyed and flustered as she straightened her clothes. "Do you want to press charges?" She asked, and looked at the guardian who was doing the report. He was someone I had seen before but couldn't remember the name of. I shook my head at her question: What was the point in that? The woman was dead!

Michela Badica's body was hanging lifelessly from the bell tower. She looked like a ragdoll, or a Halloween decoration no one had bothered to take down. Her eyes had been clawed out, her neck broken before the fall, and her ribcage ripped open, the heart missing. Someone had bound her ankle to the end of the bell before throwing her body out from the tower, and now the bell rang every time her body swayed in the mild breeze. It was horrific, so naturally, all of court's citizens had come to watch. Ancient Rome was so long ago and yet people still enjoyed watching human suffering. Looking at her tattered body one question remained: Was this my fault? It seemed these days that all death leed back to me, somehow.

Damian took his umbrella out and unfolded it to protect us from the light rain, which had begun to fall from the grey sky. I hadn't even noticed him until now. "We should go, Miss Hathaway. Being here won't support our case," he told me in advice.

I frowned at him, as I registered his words and the meaning behind them. "What case?" Surely there was no case? She was dead!

"The case the Ivashkov family will be leading for you. I know that your commitment to the family is over, but it was your reputation, and in collaboration of that, Adrian's and the Ivashkov family's, that Mrs. Badica tried to slander. Therefore, I will be handling the case," he offered comfortingly. I suppose he didn't know what else he could do for me at the moment. As I said, I had always liked Damian. He had always been frank and honest, and I appreciated that in a family where it seemed no one was being candid.

"I just said no to pressing charges?" It was a question, and frankly, I had expected him to leave after that. Perhaps it had been stupid of me, but I didn't see the point.

Damian shook his head. "To press charges for attempted murder and torture, and while that can still be changed, the other case is still open. Please just let me do my job, Rose," he practically begged me, and I shrugged. If he wanted to go through the year-long trials against a dead woman, then sure. Who was I to ruin his fun?

What had lead to this seemingly absurd scene? I am glad you ask. Let us go back to where we left off:

After seeing Adrian shoot Finnick up close - I know, what the actual fuck? - Dimitri had decided it might be best if I stayed off the radar. Instead of taking me back to Jesse's place, he had sneaked us into Christians townhouse. It was supposed to be abandoned and, according to Dimitri, the best place to hide was somewhere no one expected. Now here is where it starts to get freaky, because first of, I actually got a full six hours of sleep - which is currently unheard of - but, Christian also came by to make breakfeast. I was beginning to consider falling in love with that guy, if nothing else, then solely for the bacon he cooked. He told us, that Lissa and he had argued all the way home last night, and then she had locked him out, which was why he had slept in Jesse's apartment while waiting for us to return. He was up this early because Mia had returned last night - literally in the middle of the night, and she and Jesse had been fucking each other's brains out ever since - at least she seemed to be doing better.

Although both men wanted me to, I could hardly stay away from today's election, but when we arrived at the venue, everything was upside down. Apparently - last night - after dragging Lissa and Christian away from the public eye, Victor Dashkov had broken protocol - surprise - and challenged the other three contestants to a good old fashioned fight to the death. Apparently, that used to be common practice back in the old days - who knew? I mean, that might have made this entire thing much more interesting from the beginning. Rufus, being the asshat he was, had accepted, so now it was stated in the law that the other two had to accept as well, or withdraw. I wanted to bet everything I owned those two had been calculating on that when they had their little friendly get-together. Marie Conta - the lovely lady - straight up refused, called it a barbaric tradition - which it was - and threatened to have the entire election disqualified for being fixed. Vasilisa Dragomir had accepted.

Now naturally, Christian was pissed. She was pregnant and in no condition to fight to the death with two earth users. That was his opinion. My odds were on Lissa, to be honest, but I wasn't about to voice that opinion. I didn't want her to participate any more than he did, but for other reasons.

"You have to stop this!" Christian insisted and put his fist down on the table in front of Hans. I had to give it to him: Hans had some balls. No debating, no compromising, clean and simple, he answered: "No," and he stuck to it. Even when it caused the entire room to jump on him, he still stood his ground. So, despite Christian's - and the Contas' - best efforts to shut the fight down, Hans insisted, and the law dictated, that we had to let it happened. I don't know who designed these laws, but seriously were they a bunch of crap? My best shot was trying to talk some sense into Rufus, so that was where I went after realizing the drama in Hans' office wasn't leading anywhere.

I put on my best no-nonsense attitude and strolled into his townhouse, but was stopped halfway up the stairs by Guardian Leland, who had been instructed to keep me away.

"But I have to see him!" I exclaimed and tried to push past him yet again.

Leland grimaced and grabbed both my shoulders in a sideways motion to show me back. "No, you don't. He ran for the crown, and he is going through with it. Besides, even if he did want to see you, he isn't here."

I huffed, not feeling well about the 'if he wanted to see you' part, "well, where is he then?" Demostravivly I crossed my arms and pouted.

Leland sighed and glared at me with equal intensity. "Don't know, won't tell ya. They picked him up this morning. If he wins, he will be back tonight," was his very impolite answer.

"Well aren't you a pretty excuse for a guardian? Not only is your charge in danger that you are knowing off but you also don't know where he is!" I spat at him feeling the old hatred for him come back.

He didn't change his expression but looked slightly tired. "Go home, Rose. Wait this out like everyone else. And don't ever question my abilities again!" He growled at the end.

I smirked hauntingly, for the first time feeling truly superior. "Don't give me a reason to then! Who are you to give me orders anyway?!"

Something flickered in his eyes but he kept the mask on. "Well after today we might be colleagues. Think about that sweetie."

I huffed and turned on my heel. If by any chance I wasn't demoted after this election, he was so getting fired!

Seeing as that plan went out the door, I had to adjust my approach: Victor was the one to initiate this little stunt, so talking to him was out of the question - he was probably moved to a secret location as well. Left was Lissa, but I had no way of contacting her. To make matters worse, I couldn't read her trough the bond. It wasn't that she was blocking me: Everything was open. Wide-open. It was just that every time I reached for the connection, I felt like I was getting burned from the chaos on the other side. Not a nice feeling, which made me seriously worry about Lissa. This was what lead us to the point at which I knew I had to something, or this was going straight to hell. Of course, the law dictated the fight had to be strictly between the contestants, but I had a feeling that wouldn't be honored by anyone! With a little help from Jesse and Dimitri, I got a location out of the guardian headquarters. Credit goes mostly to Jesse for hacking the receptions computer and downloading it all through there, although Dimitri deserves credit for distracting the receptionist with charm I didn't know he owned. Seeing my usually uptight Russian turning up the heat was comedy on another level. I had trouble keeping my cool as I spied from my spot in a waiting room chair behind a plant from where I had a great view of both men without being seen.

"So, have you been around here for long? I have never seen you before," he purred and leaned over the desk to get her attention.

"Actually, I have been here for five years now, guardian Belikov. I greet you every week when you do report," she answered. She was charmed by the attention, but she was also reasonably cautious.

"Well, you must have done something new then, what is it? Wait don't tell me-" he paused and stared at her a few moments. She was just about to turn around and notice Jesse when he continued. "It is the eyes! You used to wear glasses, didn't you?"

I rolled my eyes at the cheesiness, but she giggled like a schoolgirl. "Yes, I did! I can't believe you noticed!" She exclaimed, and I fake gagged.

"Of course I noticed- Ofelia. A pretty woman like you," he charmed. The pause in his sentence told me he had searched for her name on her nametag. Tapping my fingers impatiently, I watched my phone for the update, I knew I would get when Jesse had succeeded.

"I thought, you were with councilmember Hathaway, tho?" She questioned nervously.

If you didn't know him, you wouldn't see him tense, but I noticed. "No, no, she is engaged to Adrian Ivashkov. I thought everyone knew that" he laughed. It pained him to say out loud, I could hear that.

Ofelia sighed and leaned closer to him over the desk while wriggling in her chair. "Ah yes, the perfect couple. She is so pretty, and he is so handsome. I am excited about seeing their kids one day. Can you imagine? With those genes - man, their kids are going to be gorgeous. It is so unfair: She gets a perfect job, perfect husband, and she is going to have perfect kids!" She whined in jealousy. If only she knew.

Dimitri cleared his throat and reached for her face to brush a few hair strands back. "No offense, but that doesn't interest me right now. I would much rather talk about you," he charmed. Behind her, Jesse gave me a thumbs up, and I got the notification on my phone. I signaled to Dimitri that we got it and heard him starting to back out of the situation awkwardly as we found our way out. A few minutes later, he dumped into the backseat of Jesse's Mercedes Benz.

"Nice job, Casanova," Jesse mocked as he drove off.

I scowled at him, "don't mock him! I have heard you don't have any trouble yourself these days."

A blush crept unto his face along with a smirk. "So, you heard about that, huh?"

"Oh please," I gushed. "Christian is a real gossip."

"Damn, I completely forgot about him. He showed up and wanted to wait for you, so I let him sleep on the couch. I am sorry, I couldn't stop Adrian, I hope you managed to wriggle yourself out of it?" He apologized. I wanted to be mad at him but couldn't. Adrian had basically dragged off with me, but there hadn't been a lot Jesse could do without causing a scene.

I looked at Dimitri in the mirror. Only three people had witnessed yesterday's murder: Dimitri, Adrian and myself. I hadn't decided whatever or not I was going to tell yet. Truth be told, I had expected it to be all over court, but it seemed no one had heard the gunshot. How Adrian got rid of the body, I didn't know, but no one was talking about Adrian Ivashkov being arrested for murder, so I figured he had. "Yeah, I got out. How far is the location?" I asked and glanced at the GPS.

"About 30 kilometers. It is the middle of the woods - they really didn't want any interference."

"More like didn't want all of court to witness two brutal murders. What is the plan?" There was a long silence and I sighed. "Right, I am the girl with the plans. Well, mostly I want to find Rufus and Lissa and get them the hell out of there. Preferably without killing anyone."

"What if they resist?"

"Then we make them come back with us. I suggest- Holy cow, why did you to that?!" I exclaimed as our car came to a sudden stop.

"I didn't, we just can't go any further. The car won't budge."

A shudder went through me as I realized why: "It is an electro field. And you can probably guess who."

"Lissa?" Jesse asked.

I shook my head as the person in question came into view. "Robert," I concluded and unfastened my seatbelt. "Would you mind? We are trying to save lives here!" I exclaimed as I stepped out of the car. Robert shook his head from side to side in twitches.

"Where is my son?!"

I raised both eyebrows. "I don't know, have you tried Sankt Vlads?" For all I knew, Robert didn't know, I knew about Finick.

"My other son!" Or maybe he did.

"Why would I know? You are his father! Have you tried contacting his mother with some child support?" I asked, not knowing when to just shut up as usual.

"Don't mock me! You know where he is!" Robert hissed. Truth be told, I didn't know what Robert was capable of, but I did know that I didn't want to find out.

"I don't. Now if you would excuse me, I want to go save my friends-" I was cut off by an invisible force showing me onto the helmet of the car.

"You are not going anywhere!" He yelled, eyes about to pop out. Dimitri tried to move to help me, but for some reason, he froze. I realized why, as I tried to move myself - I couldn't. "Where is Finnick!" Robert yelled as he got in my face.

I glared at him, deciding the truth was the worst way to go. "I. Don't. Know," I kept denying.

He shook his head manically and took a step back. "I warned him not to get involved with you. I told him. I said: 'Finick, Rose Hathaway is a bad girl! She does horrible things to the people she loves and even worse to her enemies, but he wouldn't listen! You hurt him, didn't you?! You witch! You hurt my son!" He yelled. I felt the heaviness of the spell, suddenly, and felt like I was about to be crushed underneath it.

"Father!" God help me, it was Calvin. Was he in on this too? "Father, let her go," he asked calmly. Maybe not. He moved into my view, and he seemed to be very affected by the situation. I had never seen him so emotional before, but he was trying hard to keep it together.

"I can't! She hurt your brother!" Robert cried.

"Finnick hurt himself when he started this entire plan - you said so yourself: All he was gonna get, was grief. Don't bring that on yourself. Let Rose go," he repeated. I wanted to send him a thankful gaze, but he wasn't even looking my way.

"She needs to pay!" Robert cried.

"She has done nothing. Let her go."

"She will pay!"

Calvin looked pained, and then he did something unexpected: He drew his flashlight and hit Robert in the back of the head. Immediately, I could move again and used the newfound ability to hug him.

"Thank you!" He hugged me back slightly.

"When uncle Vic called, I knew something like this was bound to happen. Finnick was Robert's favorite: The prodigy," he explained bitterly then looked at me concerned and added: "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I am fine, thanks to you. We have to get back on the road, but thank you so much! I can't ever repay you for this!" He looked vary for a moment then he grabbed me and kissed me.

"That was payment enough," he whispered against my lips, then pulled away completely as nothing had happened. "Do you guys need help?"

"Yes!" I said at the same time the boys said "No!" I looked at them angrily but had to respect democracy. "Please keep Robert under control and that will be plenty. But Calvin," I touched his arm as he was about to move away, "Thank you! I still owe you one," I promised, then got back in the car. Jesse wasted no time in getting the car back to life and drove around Calvin to get us back on track. The road got worse and worse condition as we got closer until finally, he pulled up at an old cottage. "You think they are in there?" I asked warily. Dimitri shook his head.

"Judging by the landscape I'd say the fight went east. Ready to run?" He barely asked before he took off, Jesse and I hanging after him. He was right. The closer we got the more it looked like a tornado had been through. Finally, we reached them and I looked in horror at the scene. Lissa had Rufus in torture like compulsory state, like she once had Jesse, meanwhile Victor was trying to break through the electro shield she had put up.

"Lissa!" I yelled as I rushed to her, but when she turned and looked at me, that was not Lissa.

"Rose," she answered coldly like I was being inconvenient. "You just had to ruin everything again, didn't you?! Like at the academy, but this time you won't get the credit. Kill him!" She ordered Victor to attack Rufus while she turned her attention on me. Rufus was released from his state, but barely long enough to put up a defense against Victor. Jesse and Dimitri threw themselves into stopping the two men from killing each other, leaving Lissa to me.

"Liss, this isn't you-" I tried, but she interrupted me.

"Yes, it is! You don't know anything! This is the way it has to be, I have to be queen!" She yelled. She looked just as unstable as Finick and Robert had, I thought in horror.

"Says who?" I challenged her, trying to talk sense into her.

"It is the only way. I have to save our world!" She reasoned.

"You aren't saving it! Please, Liss, you must know this!" I cried.

For a brief moment it looked like I had gotten through to her, but then her face darkened again. "You just want Christian to yourself! It is like Tatiana said: All you dhampirs are whores, trying to ruin us moroi! You aren't getting him alright!?" She shrieked.

I flinched, and the worst part was I didn't know if Tatiana really had said that or if someone made her. "I don't want Chrisitan, I never have. Please, Liss, I love you. Please let go and come back to me!" I begged again. She paused and then fell to her knees with a scream. Slowly it turned into loud hysteric sobs mixed with pain-filled screams, and I slowly approached her.

"I... I don't know how. Please Rose, help me, I-" she paused, and I saw and felt the monster return. Knowing I had no choice, I did something, I had discovered myself able to do years back with Avery, but never thought I would use again: I highjacked her. Forcing myself into her head, I forced her brain to shut down, so she fell unconsciously on the ground. The manouvre caused me to fall to my knees in exhaustion, but at least it was over. Behind her, Victor too fell to the ground, as Dimitri knocked him out effectively. Jesse offered his hand to Rufus, who took it gratefully and let him help him off the ground. "Thank you, son," he sighed.

Dimitri came to me and helped me stand. "Are you alright?" He asked. I looked at Lissa, still, a bit shook but nodded. "Yeah, it was a long time coming." He sent me a look but didn't start to lecture me. It wouldn't have helped anyway, I was about to pass out from exhaustion. I felt him taking most of my body weight and helping me back to the car. I guess they loaded the others as well, cause before I knew it, we were back at court and the three contestants were being moved to the infirmary. Jesse gave a recap to the guards who put handcuffs on both Lissa and Victor, so they were chained to their hospital beds. Rufus was the only one able to walk into the infirmary on his own and wasn't put in handcuffs for some reason.

"Rose? We are going to need to speak with you," Hans asked carefully. Did I really look that fragile?

Dimitri looked at me warily, "be careful with her. The fight was hard on her," he warned.

Hans nodded and put his hand on my back, carefully guiding me to an empty office. "What happened out there?" He asked me, taking a small notepad out to write my statement down.

I shook my head at him. "Everything? Robert Duro showed up."

He nodded. "Guardian Mercury brought him in. Duro is in custody, and I think we will be looking into getting him hospitalized. He needs help." That we agreed on.

"He tried to kill me. And not in the paid assassin way," I told Hans who nodded and wrote it down.

"Guardian Mercury told us in his statement. He said he showed in the last second to help you escape." It was a question. He wanted me to confirm Calvin's story, so we didn't have to go over it again.

I nodded to tell him just to use Calvin's statement. "At the scene, we found Lissa, and she was... Torturing Rufus. Victor was trying to stop her, but when we arrived she made him try to kill Rufus instead. I tried to reason with her, but she wouldn't stop. So, I stopped her." It hurt to admit, but that was what I did. I took my best friend down.

"Trough the bond?" Hans asked and I nodded. "Princess Dragomir is still unconscious - Will that change?" He had little knowledge of the bond, as did we, so he was really asking if I was still controlling her.

"I don't know. I think so." I had let go of her mind, but I didn't know what would happen when she woke up. "It isn't her fault. She has been controlled for months, maybe even years. We all have," I told him, trying to defend her.

Hans sighed and clicked his pen. "Adrian Ivashkov admitted to controlling you with compulsion this morning - on orders from the late queen, he said. Do you want to press charges?"

I shook my head. "No. I'll handle Adrian myself."

Hans shot me a look as if to say 'If you kill him, I can't look the other way'.

"I am going to call off the engagement. Then we have to handle our business obligations," I explained.

"Rose..." He sighed, "who is the mastermind?" Truly he was as lost, as I was, but even Hans could see this wasn't adding up.

"I don't know," I admitted. With everything that happened, I wasn't even sure anymore. All I knew was, that it was over, or so I hoped. If it was Finick and they didn't know about him yet, then I still wanted to protect Adrian as much as possible by not leading them in his direction.

Hans definitively folded his hands. "Alright. I am going to need a more detail statement one of these days, but for now I will let you have your peace. Go get some rest, tomorrow is going to be hell for all of us," was his advice. I nodded, but my head felt heavy, so I swayed slightly even as I stood up.

Outside the building, Michela Badica was waiting for me.

"You!" She hissed and showed her fangs.

I hesitated slightly but decided this confrontation was unavoidable. Might as well get it over with. "What can I do for you, lady Badica?" I asked coldly although it felt sarcastic.

She scowled, "you killed Finick! You killed him and then you took out Vasilisa. You stupid whore! You ruined everything!"

I was slightly surprised to hear her admit this much in public, especially as we were getting some stares. "I have no idea what you are talking about, Michela. If you would excuse me," I tried to push past her, but she showed me back, or well she tried. She lacked a great part of upper body strength.

"You won't get away with this! I swear to god, I will make sure you are held responsible!" She yelled.

"For what? Stopping three royals from murdering each other? Saving lives? Making our world a better place?" I asked mockingly, as I sensed our audience was on my side, although no one had interfered yet.

Michela turned red with fury, but she didn't answer. I thought I had won, but then I felt it: The blood under my skin was pumping faster than my heart allowed it, and my airways started to swell. She was controlling the water in my body! I tried to gasp for air, but I couldn't, and I fell to my knees as my heart started to ache. "I learned a thing or two from Duro, you know," Michela finally bit at me with a sadistic smile. 'This is it,' I thought, 'this is how I die. Taken down by a freaking moroi socialite!'

"That is enough!" A voice yelled and interrupted Michela's wicked victory. Daniella Ivashkov stepped up beside us and with a flicker of her wrist, she released me from my torture. I didn't know her element was water, but man was I thankful! "Step away from my daughter-in-law, please," she ordered Michela.

"You think she still is? Haven't you heard: Your son admitted to a whole bunch of crimes against her this morning. Domestic abuse isn't a good foundation for a marriage," Michela snarled and gloated in the horrified gasps from our audience.

Daniella looked completely unfazed. "Nonetheless she is still my future daughter in law, until the official statement. I suggest you step away from her before I do to you what you did to her," she warned Michela as she stared her down.

"I'd like to see you try!" Michela challenged and Daniella answered by simply pointing at her, and I could see Michela's face pale, as she was no doubt experiencing the same thing I had. Daniella let her go quickly tho, and stepped in between us.

"Now back off, before I call security," she ordered. With a hiss, Michela left hastily and Daniella watched her until she was sure she was gone. Turning to me she offered me her hand to help me stand up. "Are you alright?" She asked me, the warm and caring woman was back.

"Yeah, thanks," I muttered and looked around. There was a circle of people staring and taking pictures.

"Come," she whispered and took my elbow. "Let's get you out of sight. It isn't safe for you to be out in the open, and besides: Adrian wants to speak with you." I panicked slightly, having no idea what to say to him yet, but she must have sensed that, as she tried to reassure me: "I'll be there with you. I promise, I won't let him hurt you again, even if he is my son, but you have to at least let him explain."

Seeing as she just saved my life, I figured I owed her one and let her drag me away. The Ivashkov residence was just as I remembered it: Looking like it hadn't been redecorated since Adrian's great grandfather bought it. "He is in Nathan's office," Daniella instructed upon arrival. I had been there only once before when Nathan wanted to see us and discuss donations for one of Daniella's foundations. Surprisingly, I ran into Nathan himself on the way, and he smiled at me with his big lion-like face.

"Rose, good to see you! He is in there: Please listen to him, he is really terribly sorry. I am sure you can work it out," he tried to butter me up.

I gave him a tight smile out of politeness. "Let's see what he has to say first. Good to see you too, Nathan." I patted him on the arm and went inside, knowing the gesture must have been a shock to him.

The door was closed but unlocked, so I let myself in and closed it behind me. Adrian was sitting in his father's chair, spinning around slowly like a bored child. When he saw me though he straightened up. His hair was messy, real messy, but he was wearing a suit with a vest underneath and the tie was neatly knot. "You came," he breathed as if he was surprised to see me.

Slowly, I walked around and sat in one of the armchairs. "Your mother saved my life outside the guardians' headquarters, so I figured I owed it to her," I explained lightly

"When I heard you were gone, I thought-" He didn't finish, but the ending was there: He thought, I had left him.

"No, I had to interfere with that entire battle-to-death thing, you know. I heard you turned yourself in?"

He gave me a weak smile. "I tried to, but they wouldn't have me. Said they had to talk to you first."

"Hans told me. I am not pressing charges," I explained.

He raised a brow with a humorous smile. "No? I thought Lissa was the one with Stockholm syndrome little Dhampir," he joked lightly.

"I know you did it to protect me."

He sobered up a little and nodded. "I did."

"Please tell me everything." I asked and mentally added 'so I know whatever or not to hate you'.

He made a clear gesture with his hands. "Where to start? I came into this thing pretty late," he stated. "Lissa was already on another planet and my aunt had lost it completely. It took me a while to figure out it wasn't their plan. Then I meet Frederick, who turned out to be Finick. I bought the entire royal act, I am afraid. Finick had Lissa in the palm of his hand from the moment I meet him, and he used her influence and power to collect favors from other powerful people. People like Sonya Karp and Micheal Tanner. He had so much power over them all, I tried not to get involved, but then he got interested in you, and I knew I had to do something, so I struck up a deal," he paused and gave me time to come with input, but I urged him to finish. "I would keep you busy and away from court, and he would leave us alone. At least that was the plan, to begin with, but he got greedy. He wanted you to do his bidding. I wouldn't do that to you, so I had to come up with something else. I promise; I have only compelled you to keep you safe, nothing else," he vowed sincerely.

"How long?" I asked him, wanting to know how many of my emotions I could trust.

"Four months," he admitted shamefully. That was a lot longer than I had expected. I felt so betrayed.

"The engagement?" I asked him, and he looked away.

"That was to convince him I had you under my spell. That is why I pulled the big ring from the bolt," he explained. That made sense, he wanted to flash it, so he was sure Finick would know.

"When I was constantly being attacked, didn't it once occur to you, that he would kill me anyway?" I asked him, truly fascinated by his naivety.

"Finick never tried to have you assassinated. Lissa did, and Tatiana. Tatiana had all her political enemies on a hit list - after Finick started talking to her, you made the list. Lissa was being compelled by both Finick and Sonya. I think it tipped her over the edge. She started developing an entirely new personality that would appear and disappear faster than lightening. When it was in control, she would sometimes try to kill you, convinced her life would be easier without you holding her back and standing in her way," he explained.

"And Ralp Sarcozy?" I wanted to know.

"Ralp was a distraction, I think. Finick wanted you busy until Lissa was elected. It worked."

I shrugged, it really didn't. "I had a theory; That Sankt Vladimirs was the mother of all this misery," I explained, no, asked.

Adrian took long deep calm breaths and shook his head. "Not a bad theory, but no. Finick went to Sankt Laurent in California."

"And Calvin Mercury?"

"I have no idea if he was involved."

I sighed. "Anything else you want to confess?"

He regarded me closely then shifted a little in his chair. "I hired three teams of assassins to attack you here at court, although they were instructed not to kill you. I wanted to scare you away from here. I hoped that eventually, you would give up and come with me back to Europe. I realize my plan backfired," he admitted, seeming more bitter that he failed than that he had done it in the first place.

I nodded. It sure did. "So what now?" I asked him, hoping he had an answer.

He sighed again and leaned in over the table. "Well. First let me just say that I love you, and I want to be with you-"

"Adrian-" he held up a finger to stop me.

"However, I see that with what I have done, you probably won't be able to trust me again. Therefore, I'll start by calling off the engagement. It was based on fraud anyway," he stated. I blinked surprised. He was being very mature and realistic about this.

"Well, I appreciate that. I want to break up as well, completely."

He looked disappointed but gave me a nod. "Understandable. How about work-relations?"

"On the condition that it is strictly work - I would like to keep you in your current position. I'll understand if you need some time off first."

He nodded. "I'd like that as well. When the election is over and everything is settled, I'll take a few weeks off. I guess there isn't much else to discuss?"

I hesitated but felt like I had to tell him: "I am having Lissa admitted to a mental institution along with Robert Duro. As far as I am notified, you aren't in the officials' light, but I want you to know, that I will do everything I can, not to have you end up there with them. I think, for now, that might include pretending to be together. We can call off the engagement publicly, but we can't afford a scandal right now. That is why I am not pressing charges," I clarified. I didn't want Adrian to get hurt from this. He had tried to protect me, I could at least return the favor.

"I appreciate that. Especially considering what I did: I am really sorry, Rose."

"I know, me too."

"Well if that is all, then I won't keep you. Do I get a hug?"

"You can get a kiss."

I stood up and meet him around the table, for the last time letting my lips meet his. Although I was relieved, this was also bittersweet. I did love him, but sometimes love wasn't enough. This was one of those times. "Will I be seeing you with Belikov now? I understand he is still in your life," he asked, and although he tried to keep it neutral, I felt a bit attacked.

"No. I am not jumping into another relationship. Adrian, this isn't because of Dimitri," I made it clear to him, he couldn't blame this on someone else.

Surprisingly, he agreed. "I know. We were over anyway. In fact, we were never really together," he admitted bitterly.

I wanted to leave, but I hesitated again. I owed him the truth, after all of our time together. "We were together, Adrian. For almost two years. When you proposed, I felt it in my heart, that it was the right thing. In a perfect world it still would be, but the way things played out, I just don't see us as a possibility anymore. I truly am sorry, don't think this isn't causing me pain too." He had to know this was no easy decision for me.

He studied me for a few moments then nodded. "I thought, I saw a little gold in there once in a while, and now I see in your aura the truth of your words. I love you, little Dhampir, I think part of me always will, but you are right; we must move on. We were never meant for each other, although for a while it certainly felt that way. Don't be sad - I will try not to." At the end of his speech, I was crying, real heavy tears.

"I will miss you."

"I will be right there with you little dhampir, that is the beauty of this arrangement."

I shook my head angrily. "Not like this. You won't be kissing me after a hard day, or drinking wine with me on a balcony in London. We won't have sex on the helmet of some ambassador's car in Madrid or make out in the back of a fancy restaurant. I will miss that, but I know I have to."

He smiled bittersweetly and leaned down to kiss me again. "You can change your mind in a few years if you need to, but for now we are doing the right thing. I truly believe that." He promised and then reluctantly let me go. I left just as reluctantly, looking back at him one last time before walking out the door.

On my way out, I ran into Daniella again, who looked at me curiously. "Everything alright?"

I nodded. "We broke up, but we are still friends. I won't hold any of this against you or the Ivashkovs, Daniella. I still value our friendship," I told her sincerely.

She smiled at me a little sad and touched my cheek. "I have come to think of you as a daughter, Rose. I truly hope you will find happiness in life," she told me kindly. I took her hand and held it in mine.

"Thank you, for all of your help and kindness. This isn't goodbye: It is just a new beginning," I promised, and she nodded with a smile, then let me go.

I meet Dimitri outside. "You know, you really suck at your job!" I complained to him.

He raised a brow at me. "I am sorry? I found you, didn't I? And I see you are alive and unharmed," he smirked arrogantly.

"I was almost killed by Michela Badica outside the headquarters half an hour ago," I informed him matter-of-factly, but he didn't seem faced.

"And yet here you are unharmed."

I glared at him and decided he wasn't worthy of more of my time. Instead, I wanted to follow Hans' advice and get some sleep, except I didn't know where home was: Lissa's guestroom was out of the question, her house was still on lockdown. My father's house reminded me of too much of the time I had spent there with Adrian. Jesse's apartment was once again occupied by a loving couple. Christian's house was probably occupied by the owner himself, and I imagined not in a good mood, and lastly, Rufus' house didn't seem like home to me anymore. Mostly I wanted to get a hotel room, but options were limited here at court, and I doubted I was allowed to leave anytime soon. I looked back at Dimitri again, "I don't know where to go," I confessed. He looked torn then made a small throw of his head for me to follow him. He took me to the gym, locked us in and helped me upstairs. I didn't know what was up there, but I imagined an office space. I was wrong: It was storage for old gear, and at the end of the room, there was a door, to which Dimitri had a key. He unlocked it and held it open for me: It was a small apartment, kinda. There was an old mattress, probably from the gym, but there were clean sheets on it and a lamp on the floor next to it. A couch on the other side, and a table made of old wooden boards. What sold the thing was the view: You could see most of court from here. I hadn't realized the gym was placed that high until now.

"Will it do?" He asked nervously and scratched his neck. I nodded and fell onto the mattress.

"It is perfect. Let's get some sleep comrade," I groaned into the pillow. The last thing I felt was the mattress dip next to me, and then I was out.


I woke up to Dimitri grumping angrily on the phone. "Well fix it! Do I need to remind you of who my charge is?" He hissed, and then said something in Russian that sounded like a threat. When he noticed, I was awake, he grumbled something more and hung up.

"Everything alright?" I asked, concerned at what had caused his bad mood.

He shook his head and sat at the end of the bed. "Michela Badica was arrested this morning. Someone was busted in the middle of cutting the brakes on your car, and he admitted it was her, who had ordered him to do so. Turns out she really wants you dead. She was in custody for approximately four hours, but then something went wrong, and now they don't know where she is," he explained patiently. He sounded very sorry like it was all his fault.

"What, so she is walking free now? Who the hell released her?" I exclaimed, already feeling paranoid.

"No one. The cameras went out, the guardians on guard distracted, and then she was just gone. Someone must have broken her out," he explained.

I snorted bitterly. "Yeah, someone. I have a few qualified guesses. Is Duro still in custody?"

He nodded. "Vasilisa too, as well as Dashkov and Ralf Sarcozy. Now that the election is over, both Vasilisa's and Victor's immunity are gone. They can be held responsible for their crimes."

"The election is over?!" But it couldn't be? Surely there was still a vote to get to.

"That is the other thing: Might be good news. Since Rufus was the only one still conscious and walking, when we brought them in, he wins. Rufus Tarus is king now." I was stunned. Rufus was king? King Rufus? It felt weird.

"I need to speak to Hans, don't I?" I guessed. I had a feeling Hans would want to yell at me for interfering with the fight.

Dimitri nodded. "Yes, he asked that you come to see him as soon as possible, but first you have been summoned by the king." I blinked. The king? Oh right, he meant Rufus! Of course, Rufus would want to see me.

"Sure, where is he?" I doubted he was still to find in his old office, after his recent upgrade.

Dimitri gave me a small smile. "In the throne room, preparing his coronation, I bet."

I swallowed and jumped out of bed. "Well, his majesty is going to have to wait until I have showered. I feel disgusting," I noted, and although Dimitri didn't say anything, it was obvious he agreed.


As Dimitri had foreseen, Rufus was in the middle of planning his big moment. I smiled to myself as I heard him talk to the staff about wanting 'more'.

"Your majesty!" I yelled jokingly. "You summoned me?" I asked with a smile as I approached him.

Rufus laughed and opened his arms to me. "Yes, my trusted ally: The source of my victory. I must ask you: would you go with green or red?" He asked and gestured to the two different carpets someone had laid out.

"Red, always. Was that all?"

"No, no, of course not. Please, come with me. We have much to discuss." He took a hold of my shoulder and steered me into one of the more private rooms.

"You know, when I asked for your help I didn't mean to fix the final challenge," he only half-joked as the door was closed behind us. Silent guardians flanked the walls, but he was their King now, and so they were loyal to him.

"My dear, I have been thinking. This king position, it isn't much without a queen - speaking in the chess metaphor. I need a strong queen, to make the moves I can't."

"I am sure your wife is excited," I noted dryly, not up for this discussion and quiet tired of chess.

"I am not talking about her - I want you. Rose, I want you to be my queen," he told me and seemed to be quiet sincere, but I took the opportunity to make a joke:

"As much as I am flattered, Rufus, I don't feel that way about you," I smirked, knowing it wasn't meant to be romantic.

He scoffed. "No, not like that! Strictly business - I want you to be my co-regent," he announced.

"Really?" I asked and blinked twice to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

He nodded seriously. "You were right about this world needing an update. This election is the last, but baby-steps, always. So, I want to share the power with you. When the time comes, and I want to retire, we will have a democratic election, and you will be the one to make sure that it is carried out properly. What do you say?" He asked with a grand gesture. And a grand gesture it was, indeed. I had feared for, what kind of leader Rufus would become. In the last few years, he had been fumbling, and before that, he had been a stuck up conservative. But this? This was brilliance.

"I say thank you. I accept your proposal."

"Great, then we have much to do and discuss: First off, you aren't getting a crown straight away. We will introduce you as personal adviser then promote you to queen later when they have gotten used to it," he explained as if the entire world was at our feet. In a way, I suppose it was.

"I should go talk to Hans. I am sure he is going to be thrilled about this," I noted.

"I already talked to Croft. He wants to see you," Rufus commented smugly.

"Yeah, so I heard," I grumbled and left him to his self-admiration.

Hans was about as thrilled as you would imagine. "Why do you have to be the torn in my eye every single day?" He grumbled angrily.

"Is that a way to address your new queen?" I asked him mockingly, putting my legs over the edge of the chair.

"You aren't queen yet," he pointed out. "I am appointing you two personal guardians for now, if you leave court grounds - even for a burger - you need four. When you are crowned you'll have four at all times and six when leaving." He told me pointedly, and I shrugged.

"We both know, I am not going to do that. I'll make you a deal: I'll have one, and then maybe two when I am crowned, but never more."

"No," he stated, leaving no room for discussion.

I raised both brows, "no?"

"No. I am head guardian, this isn't a negotiation. However, I'll do you a favor: I'll count you in as your own guardian. You still need two: I suggest you pick someone, you like to spend time with for the day-shift, then I will choose someone for the night-shift. During office hours, I'll appoint you one extra who doesn't go home with you." That seemed like a fair deal.

"Alright, I can do that. Who can I choose?"

He shrugged. "You are going to be the queen. Pick anyone you like, but be sure they are qualified, please?" I smirked at him. I could do that.

"Put in a request for guardian Castile, I'd like to have him on the team. I trust you to find someone with a great resumé for the other position. As for my main guard: I'll keep you posted," I told him and stood up from my seat.

"Off to find lover boy?" He guessed. I didn't know how much Hans knew, but if Adrian knew of Dimitri, so did the rest of the court probably.

"Maybe," I told him poping my lips and strolled off. Dimitri was still dutifully waiting outside. I didn't know if he had heard - if he did, he wasn't showing it. Deciding it was a personal conversation, I went home to my father's house and sat us down in the living room. His tall figure looked surprisingly graceful on the sofa.

"Did you hear Hans?" He shook his head.

"No?"

I smirked a little. I knew he hadn't heard Rufus either, so this was going to be a surprise for him. I rarely got to surprise him. "Rufus is promoting me to the personal adviser for the king. He plans on making me co-regent," I told him.

He raised a brow. "Why?"

"Because times change and he knows that. I am going to need a personal guard - three, actually."

"I am sure guardian Croft is going to find you someone capable," was his short answer, and I frowned. Did he not want to be my guardian?

"Well, see, the thing is: I told Hans, I'd find someone myself. If you'd like it, the position is open..." I trailed off, he was sure to get the message, I hoped.

His mask didn't drop. "Well, Roza, that certainly is quite an offer, but as you know, it isn't the first of that kind that I have gotten. My answer is the same: I am not a toy."

I frowned more deeply. Where was this coming from? "I didn't say you were. It is just that with the long shifts and the schedule we would rarely see each other otherwise... Unless you don't want to see each other?" I asked. Maybe that was the problem: Perhaps, he didn't want me after all?

"Well, that depends on how we would be seeing each other," he concluded coldly.

I was stunned. It took me a few seconds to catch my jaw. "Oh for heaven's sake, Dimitri, that is what I am trying to say! I want you to be my stupid boyfriend. If you don't want to, that is fine, but just say so!"

It was quiet for a few moments after my outburst then a grin crept onto his face. "Boyfriend? As in: People can know?"

I rolled my eyes. "That is kind of the idea with titles.!

He shook his head at me, stood up from his seat to kneel in front of me, and grabbed my face in his hands to kiss me. "Then yes Roza, I'd like to be your boyfriend, but I still won't be your guardian," he told me.

I blinked at him. "I am sorry, what? Why?"

He shrugged carelessly, "can't leave Christian. Poor guy is a mess."

The rare joke earned him a giggle. He was right tho: As usual, Christian was the one who had paid the most. Lissa was all he had left, and she was going to a mental institution. Not to mention: What would happen to their unborn child? There was still a lot left to be dealt with, and unfortunately, not everyone had made it out as well as I had. "That you are right about. Guess someone else will have to fill in as the queen's personal guardian then - I hope it is someone hot," I mocked him, making big eyes at my fake anticipation.

He gave me one of those rare half-smiles and reached out to brush some hair behind my ear. "I will personally make sure it is a middle-aged woman with tons of experience. Maybe your mother would like the opportunity?" I made a face. We were having such a nice time why did he have to bring up her?

"Forget it. I need to tend to all my allies and see how they made it out, then figure out what I can do for Lissa. Hopefully, they aren't considering Tarasov." I wasn't happy with my best friend, but she didn't deserve to go to a maximum-security prison.

Dimitri nodded and followed behind me, still in his obedient role as my guardian. Perhaps that was a good thing cause it was Damian waiting outside.

"Rose," he started, but I cut him off swiftly.

"You are here for the ring," I concluded, and he nodded with an awkward smile, obviously feeling sheepish. I stepped aside, so he could come in and then sat us in the dining room where the exchanged had happened once before not so long ago.

"I need you to sign here and here," he instructed, pulling formulas from his briefcase. It was a receipt that I had returned the ring. I lifted the heavy rock off my finger and felt relieved to have it finally gone. It was stressing running around with a diamond wroth a small country.

"Thank you for coming so quickly," I told him in all honesty, and he shrugged.

"Want to get that baby locked up safely as soon as possible. How are you?" He asked, seeming sincere.

"I am fine, it was very mutual. We are still friends, all of us are," I told him, letting him know there was no bad blood between any of us.

"So I haven't lost you as a client?" He joked, and I laughed with him.

"Are you kidding me? I need you now more than ever!"

Our light-hearted exchange was cut off by my phone ringing. "Just a sec," I told Damian, as I answered it. "Hello?"

"Rose Hathaway?" A deep voice asked, and I froze. It sounded modified, and that was never a good sign. I had gotten quite a few death-threats that way.

"This is she," I replied, trying to sound fearless.

"I believe you owe me a favor now, your majesty. Expect me to collect," the voice said.

"I haven't asked for a favor," I replied, suddenly bored with this prank call.

"But I did you one. Hear the bells ringing? Go see for yourself: I left you a wedding gift. Too bad you aren't getting married, for it is not the kind that cannot be returned." He hung up with that.

I stared at my phone for a moment, then turned on my heel and ran off towards the church. The bells started ringing, as I was halfway there, and a few seconds later, I got a look at the scene. It seemed no one else had noticed before I got there, but they certainly saw now. And Michela Badica was no more.

Bam. There will be one chapter to give you a glimpse of how it all turned out, and then it is over. This story is officially done after that.