Rose's POV

I opened my eyes to the bright white walls I knew all too well. I shut my eyes again immediately and groaned. I hated being in the infirmary and I hated I couldn't keep myself out of it. I sat up quickly as I remembered what put me in here. I remembered me calling out to him, or at least trying too. I felt the spirits of the other side calling me and I fainted. I wasn't actually unconscious though, I saw my body laying on the sidewalk. I was walking around outside my body. It was the weirdest experience of my life. I had no idea that I was capable of calling out to someone and I had no knowledge of it. I trusted my gut and it just happened. It was as if something was trying to connect me to something. I was so confused about it all and I needed Lissa right now. I needed to come clean about everything-The grief, the self harm,the weird experiences, and Dimitri. She might be able to tell me something about the out of body experience. She wielded the spirit element and we might be able to find some research about it. There might be something about it in the books about Vladimir and Shadow kissed Anna.

The door suddenly opened and Dr. Olendski walked through with a warm smile on her face. She was holding a clipboard, assumingly with my information on it.

"Good dear, you are awake. How are you feeling?" She asked. I looked down and realised I was wearing a hospital gown. My self harm would have been visible.

"Um, where are my clothes?" I asked, pulling on my gown a little. She wheeled the silver stool toward her and sat down.

"When we found you on the sidewalk, your head was bleeding pretty bad. We changed you into a gown to do an MRI because we couldn't pinpoint a reason as to why you were there. We were worried that you may have been attacked. I wanted to make sure your head didn't have any serious damages. The scans seemed to be okay and the bleeding was most likely caused by impact to the ground. You were a bit dehydrated when we found you so I have been giving you fluid for the past couple of days. Do you remember at all what happened?"

" I went outside to get some air and I must have fainted somehow." I lied. I wasn't completely lying but I wanted to keep the out of body thing under wraps, at least until I figured out why it happened. It just sank in what she said. Couple of days. I started to panic and realised I had been out for days? Where was Dimitri? Is he okay?

"Alright Dear, I'm keeping you from all duties for the rest of this week. I want you to rest that head of yours. I notified your instructor and they are okay with it and you are still on track to graduate so no Objections. I am going to keep you here tonight for observation. I also wanted to see how your mental health is? How are you doing?" Olendski asked, warmly. I looked down pretty embarrassed at the state of my thighs and hips.

"I am fine. Really. I am just on edge about graduation." I tried to lie until I could see Lissa. I wanted to talk to her first. I knew that I would be on strict watch for a while, if I wasn't shipped off to the looney bin.

"Rose, I am going to be frank with you. I saw the marks on your upper legs and I am assuming that they are self Inflicted. I understand if you do not feel comfortable with me but I ordered a Therapist to come in and talk to you." She saw my hesitation.

"I understand it may be hard for you but, hurting yourself Is never the answer. Grief can be a complicated thing, healing isn't a linear process. You can wake up and it feels a million years away and in the same week, feel like it happened yesterday." She said with a far away look. I knew that look, she lost someone she loved. I could feel her pain radiating off of her.

"I am sorry for your loss. It feels like it's my fault he died. His absence haunts me like a punishment almost. I don't know." I said, melancholy. She looked at me and put her hand on mine.

"Fate is sometimes painful, my dear. Fate is fate and it was meant to happen, no matter how unfair it is. I truly hope you can find closure and if you ever need anything." She said as her voice trailed off. I wanted to ask about Dimitri but I haven't a clue what has happened in the days I was out. I needed to talk to Lissa. Adrian had to have been here by now. I saw a shadow of someone in the door frame. I looked up and saw the red hair and felt embarrassed and ashamed.

"Could I have a minute with my daughter, Dr Olendski?" Janine asked, walking into the room. Dr Olendski squeezed my hand and left without another word. She greeted my mother with a nod on her way out. I wished she wouldn't have left me in here by myself. I also wish that Lissa would have gotten here first. She was short but had a strong stance that would intimidate any 6ft man. She sat down on the stool that the Dr had just sat on.

"How are you?" She asked, seemingly uncomfortable.

"Peachy. Where is Lissa? I asked, getting Impatient. She looked at me exasperated.

"Look Rose, I am just trying to meet you halfway. I know you think I have been a bad mother, and I don't blame you. I did what I had to do so I could make something of myself, to build a better life for us. For you. The Dr. told me that you have been self harming? It just does not sound like you. What's going on?"

"Look I would love to have that conversation with you but I have some questions about more important things. Why did you become Lissa's Guardian?" I demanded, needing to figure this out. She looked at me either like I was stupid or crazy.

"You know why. Natasha said that Guardian Belikov would be taking her on as his charge. She said that there was an emergency back home and they needed to go right away. I was on the trip and decided it might be good for you to have me there. The Badicas have 3 other guardians as it is so they needed to fill the Princess's spot ASAP." Her answer seemed off. Why would they let him leave just like that?

"Why didn't he say Goodbye?" She scoffed and it made me want to punch her in the face.

"You were just a Novice, Rose. He did all his duties and left on Emergency leave. Since we were in a heavily guarded resort, it wasn't a big deal. If he didn't say goodbye, he may have felt like he didn't have too." She said, treating me like a child. She had no idea what the fuck she was even taking about. Just then, Lissa knocked on the door, saving me from this conversation.

"Could I have a moment alone with Lissa, Mother." I asked coldly. She nodded and got up.

"I'll be right down the hall, Princess." She stated, Professionally. I thought she would never leave but she wandered down the hall. I teared up, finally ready to come clean.

"Is it true Rose? Are you self harming? She asked, worried. I launched into my story about Mason, Dimitri, The darkness, and the out of body experience. She looked at me like I was a lost puppy and I hated it.

"Wow Rose, I had no idea that all of that was going on with you. I feel like such a bad friend." She said, looking down and playing with her hands in her lap. I felt so guilty for keeping this all in and hurting her feelings. It must drive her crazy that I know everything about her and that isn't always returned.

"Liss, Please don't feel bad. I didn't want anyone to know. I just was scared that I would seem weak. You know why I couldn't tell you about Dimitri", I said, trying to comfort her.

"The out of body thing is super weird though, I have never heard of that. I think now that I know about you and Guardian Belikov, I need to tell you he is missing", Liss said, a little too calmly. I jumped out of bed and walked across the room.

"What the hell" I demanded.

Dimitri's POV

I woke up in the hospital room of a building. I had no idea where I was or what had happened. Was I in an accident? Where is Ivan? I wonder if my mama is here? I really hoped that I had not worried her at all. She hated that I was in this kind of work, which was super dangerous. I realised that I really wanted to talk to her. I hoped that Ivan had found a Guardian to take my place or something. I sat up in my bed and looked down, I had a wound on my lower stomach. I cringed at the pain and realised the accident may have been worse than I thought. I heard the door open and a Dr. walked in. I did not recognize her, I don't think. . She sat down next to the bed and grabbed my clipboard off the wall.

"How are you feeling Dimitri?", she asked slowly. I looked at her and thought this was the best time to try and figure out where the hell I was.

"Where am I?" I asked slowly. I started to feel weird when I noticed that the windows were barred up.

"Unfortunately, I am not at all clear to tell you any sort of information about your location." She said, softly. I took a look at her face and she looked scared. I started to feel panic in my stomach, as I realised I was in danger.