AN: Hello my loves!

This Deleted Scene once again takes place between Vampire Academy and Frostbite. (I know most of these chapters have been placed between these two books. It's just an easy time to work with and manipulate when it comes to Romitri, but i promise i will expand) I also have it placed before both chapters 1 and 3.

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy or its characters. Everything belongs to Richelle Mead.

Here comes the sun: Rose POV

"No swimming outside of training. No wandering off the camp's grounds. No male and female fraternization. No leaving your rooms after sunrise. No destruction of property. And no slacking."

It might've been just me, but I could've sworn Alto was punctuating every one of his sentences with a hard glare in my direction.

"This is not a vacation," he continued. "We are here to train and work. I expect you to act as if we were at the Academy."

At that, Mason, who was standing beside me, leaned over and whispered, "Because we're complete angels on Academy grounds," causing me to snort.

This made Alto's head come whipping in my direction, because of course he only heard my barely audible noise and not Mason's sarcastic joke. I swear the man had selective hearing. That or he just didn't like me.

His eyes found me immediately and narrowed.

Yep, he just didn't like me. Well, feelings were mutual.

"Is there something you'd like to add, Hathaway? Anything I've missed that you'd like to inform the group of?"

I gave him my most innocent smile. "Why no, Guardian Alto. I do believe you've covered all of the bases."

"Thank you for your stamp of approval," he sneered.

"No problem, sir. You do know how much pride I feel when you take the time to confer with me. I understand if you need me to make sure you remembered everything."

This caused a chorus of giggles and snickers to erupt from my class, and Stan's face to get red with anger. I smirked at both reactions, knowing this only added to my smart-mouth, reckless, untouchable reputation among my peers. However, I winced internally. I was stuck out here with Stan as our lead instructor for a week. Usually Stan didn't need an excuse to be hard on me, but after that comment, I knew he was gonna make my life hell for the next week.

By "out here" I meant a fancy retreat center that was typically used by humans, and was located – here's the important part – near a beach. With large, luxurious lodges, indoor plumbing, and immaculately groomed grounds, the site hardly resembled a "camp" like Alto had suggested. No, this was a place where the wealthy went when they wanted to feel outdoorsy. Now, normally the Academy would never go to such lengths for us dhampir, but this was the only area within reasonable flying distance of the Academy that we could rent out completely without any fear of being disturbed or noticed by humans. So here we were.

"Hathaway," Stan practically growled. "I'm warning you now. It would be in your favor to keep your attention seeking comments to yourself this week."

I was struck speechless for a second (only a second) by the fact that he'd just called me "attention seeking", and was about to protest when he yelled out a "dismissed" and everyone scattered to grab luggage and pick out the best rooms. I wasn't worried. Meredith would find something for us, so I took my time and lazily flopped onto the ground, using my duffel bag as a pillow.

Mason apparently trusted Eddie to snag them a decent room, as well, because a moment later he was lying beside me, knitting his fingers behind his head in a relaxed position.

"So what's the plan, Hathaway? Parties on the beach? Take a borrowed boat for a spin? Late night swims… naked?"

I smiled. All of those would be things I'd've taken interest in (and probably would've done) only a handful of months ago, but so many things had changed in that time. His suggestions didn't hold the same appeal. Don't get me wrong, I was a long way off from being a stickler to the rules. Reckless Rose was still alive and kicking, but a certain influence in her life liked to point out her responsibilities (often), causing her eagerness to dim.

"Tempting, but none of the above," I told him, laughing as he clutched his chest in an overly dramatic mock heart-attack.

"You're telling me that you actually plan on following the rules while we're on – wait, what are those things called where it's warm and fun and, I don't know, not Montana? Oh right, a beach! Very uncharacteristic of you to pass up a chance like this."

"Gotta keep up that unpredictable reputation somehow."

"Yeah, but -"

"No alcohol. No stealing. No nudity."

"You sound like Stan," he sighed. "You know, Lissa isn't here right now. You can let loose a little."

I winced. This trip was only for dhampir students, seeing as we were only here to "train and work", and it had been hard for me to get on the plane and leave Lissa behind. I couldn't protect her if I wasn't with her, and that knowledge hurt almost like a physical pain, strengthened by the fact that we were bonded. Still, a perk of being bonded was that I could sense her and monitor her safety from here, and I certainly wasn't going to jeopardize muting the bond by drinking.

"Drop it, Mase," I told him in what he often referred to as my "scary voice".

He wisely closed his mouth while we watched the dark sky slowly grow lighter with each passing minute. We couldn't have been lying there for more than 5 minutes, but somehow, within that time, Mason managed to subtly get closer to me. I flinched only slightly when his arm brushed and then rested against mine.

I felt his stare on me, but refused to turn my head to face him, knowing that if our eyes met he'd probably say something both of us would regret. Sunsets, according to human books and shows, were romantic and poetic and made people say and do stupid things (yes, the sun was rising, but that was our version of a sunset). Thankfully I was immune to it's "power", having seen more than enough sunsets to last me forever due to Dimitri's insistence on starting our one-on-one practices while it was still light outside.

Speaking of Dimitri…

A tall, dark figure appeared and loomed over us, striking some kind of fear into Mason that made him quickly jump way from me and to his feet. I threw an arm over my eyes and smiled. Leave it to Dimitri to unintentionally save me. It was like he couldn't help himself.

"Ashford. Hathaway. Don't tell me you already plan on breaking the rules 15 minutes after we got here."

"Would it help if I told you I've broken rules much faster than that in the past?"

"I – uh. Guardian Belikov. We, um, we weren't – I mean. Rose and I -"

"I meant that you're both about to break curfew," Dimitri interrupted before Mason could hurt himself.

"Right. Curfew. I should go make sure Eddie got us a room by the library. Wouldn't want to fall behind in my studies." And with a smirk in my direction, he began jogging to the lodges.

And then there were two.

Wordlessly he extended a hand down to me which I took without hesitation. Once on my feet, we both started walking in the direction Mason had gone.

"So comrade," I said, breaking the silence. "What's it gonna be like tomorrow? How should I prepare myself for what Stanny boy is going to throw at us?"

"You know I can't tell you that. And any preparation you might attempt, you can't do while in your room."

"I could meditate."

Dimitri snorted. "You've never meditated in your life."

"Have you never heard the saying that there's a first time for everything? I mean, what if the water is a metaphor for our souls and Stan wants to take us on a spiritual journey to find ourselves before we throw our lives into the guardian work force?"

This made him laugh. "I doubt that that's what Guardian Alto is planning. In fact, I know it's not since I helped lay out the exercises you'll be completing."

"How reassuring," I said, making a face. I knew better than anyone how fun Dimitri's physical exercises could be.

At this point my train of thought went from innocent to gutter-ish, so I quickly distracted myself by saying, "At least tell me why we are keeping up with the vampiric schedule while we're here. It's not like we're weakened by the sun or are going to burst into flames."

"No, but your circadian rhythms are running on a vampiric schedule and we need you all to be well rested for the new training criteria we are giving you this week. If we switch your sleep schedule then it might take you up to two days to recover, which is already a decent portion of our time here, and then when we go back to the Academy it will take you two more days to get back into your normal rhythm. Making the change would just be a time waster."

"But don't you ever just... miss the sun?" I asked, and his eyes softened.

We reached what was apparently designated the "girl's lodge" and were now conversing just outside of the giant wooden doors that I'm sure were made of something ridiculous like mahogany. I faced Dimitri and leaned against the wall, waiting for his answer and hoping it wouldn't be some logical explanation, with words like sar-kay-di-whatever in it, as to why the sun need not be missed.

He smiled and looked to where the sun was just starting to peak over the water, causing a rainbow of warm colors to dance across it. His expression became wistful yet content, almost vulnerable, so I knew his answer even before he turned back to me and said in a low voice, "Yes, I miss the sun."

I smiled back at him, happy that he shared such a minuscule, yet important, thing about himself with me.

"Don't worry, Rose. You'll get to be in the sun on this trip," he assured me, returning to a less bear-my-soul countenance.

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Because you will be up an hour before the sun sets, meeting me in this exact spot."

I groaned. "I was kind of hoping our sessions would be put on hold for the next week."

"And I was hoping I wouldn't have to catch you out after curfew, yet here we are."

I scowled at him. "The sun hasn't fully risen yet," I argued.

"Then you'd better get inside before it does."

"If I do, then your wish will come true, so it would only be fair if mine came true as well, don't you think?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "Your Rose-logic won't work in this situation. I expect to see you here at our usual time tomorrow." I huffed a dramatic sigh. "Besides," he added. "I have a feeling I'll be seeing you out after curfew anyway sometime this week."

"Have a little faith, comrade," I said as he pulled open the door for me and I stepped inside.

"I've known you long enough, Rose, to count on you breaking curfew."

"Oh, I didn't mean that." I began to walk away, but then threw over my shoulder, "I meant have a little faith in my ability to not get caught."

He let out an exasperated sigh and then I heard the door close. I smirked. This was certainly going to be a fun week.

The next morning, despite my earlier protests, I met Dimitri outside the girl's lodge, as per his instructions. Donned in a spandex sports bra, the Academy's customary one-piece swimsuit, and a pair of my favorite sport shorts, I was ready for training on land, in water, or otherwise. With a nod of approval at my attire, Dimitri and I began the half mile jog through the trees to the beach.

Honestly, I was excited. From the lodges it was easy to see the ocean, but the area between the two was covered in trees, making it impossible to see the beach. The last time I'd been to one was with Lissa while we were still running from the Academy. I had loved it. The waves. The sand. The sun.

I loved the sun. Even now I could feel its warm rays enticing me forward.

Of course, when visiting the beach back then, the sun had always been the problem. I could bask in it forever, feeling perfectly content, but Lissa would be drained after only an hour, and she came first. So we'd leave the sun behind and I'd just make her buy me tacos later.

When Dimitri and I finally broke through the trees, I couldn't hold back a face-splitting grin. I watched in fascination as white-capped waves tore through the water, growing smaller and smaller as they neared the shore, till they finally hit the sand with an almost gentle caress before drawing back into the ocean. Beautiful.

I looked at Dimitri to see if his reaction was similar to mine, but he wasn't watching the ocean. He was watching me, a faint smile tugging at his lips. I turned away and began stretching to hide the faint blush tinting my cheeks. Pull yourself together, Rose. You blush for no man.

After stretching, Dimitri joined me for a 10 mile run. I usually had a hard time keeping up with Dimitri anyway, but today I was seriously struggling. It felt like I was running through glue as every footfall sank into the sand. I became angry knowing I had to be going a fraction of my normal speed, but Dimitri gave no indication that he thought I was doing poorly so I just kept running.

At the last quarter mile Dimitri, who was a few paces ahead, called back to me. "See that dune up there? That's where we stop. So push yourself during this last leg."

I wasn't sure of everything he said because all I heard was, "Race me to that dune." So with all of the energy I had left I forced my muscles into overdrive and picked up my speed. My legs shouted a few profanities at me and my lungs cursed the day I was born, but eventually we made it to the dune. Dimitri first and me following a couple seconds after.

I collapsed without grace onto my back, heaving air into and out of my body. Sweat slid down my temples and back in rivets and my face burned red from exertion. I hadn't been this exhausted from running in a long time. Leave it to Dimitri to find a new way to torture me using something as simple as running.

Said Russian, of course, was standing in front of me, looking like he could go another 10 miles right now. His breathing was slightly heavier than normal and sweat coated his brow and darkened his t-shirt between his pectorals, but other than that he was fine. I would've punched him if I wasn't too busy trying to sit up.

"No...fair," I managed between breaths. "You have… all of that… experience… trudging through… arctic wastelands."

He rolled his eyes, but smiled as he said, "You did well, Rose. Running on sand is new to you and yet you still managed to keep a decent time."

My body reacted to his praise automatically, straightening up (as best it could on the ground) and adjusting itself to the proper position so that my breathing and pulse could recover more quickly. How did he have this kind of effect on me?

The period of rest sadly ended when I was able to breathe normally again, and he had me doing all of the common work-out exercises: sit-ups, crunches, push ups, lunges etc. By the time we were finished and started to head back for breakfast, the sun was nearly gone and twilight had descended, turning everything gray. I missed it already. That single hour of end-of-the-day light wasn't enough. It was a shame that I'd be living the rest of my life at night. Don't get me wrong, guarding Lissa was my duty and my choice – I would die before I had it any other way – but guarding a Moroi came with sacrifice. A minor one being the lack of sun exposure. I was fully prepared to give up that, my life, and everything in between for my charge, but right now, while we were still in high school and Lissa was safely behind multiple wards and dozens of guardians, I wanted to enjoy and indulge in something that I'd eventually have to give up for good. Like Mason had said, we were on a beach, and that opportunity shouldn't be wasted.I decided then that it wouldn't be.

After breakfast, I returned to the beach, this time with my class in tow. Most of them had never even seen the ocean before, and it showed. The wonder quickly left their faces, however, when Alto began screaming orders into a megaphone.

"NOVICES! START STRETCHING! ONCE YOU HAVE FINISHED I WANT TO SEE THREE MILES! ANYONE WITH A TIME MORE THAN 10 MINUETS GETS ANOTHER MILE! BEGIN!"

"As if his voice wasn't loud and obnoxious enough," Eddie murmured, stretching his hamstrings.

"How long do you think he's been waiting to use that thing?" Mason asked.

"Well now we know why he seemed so excited for the trip," I added, already thinking up ways Stan's new toy could end up misplaced.

"HATHAWAY!" I jumped and spun to face Alto – who was now only a few feet away from me. "WHY ARE YOU JUST STANDING THERE?"

I cringed away from the ear-splitting demand. "I already stretched earlier with Guardian Belikov."

"THEN YOU SHOULD BE RUNNING! AND SINCE YOU HAVE SO MUCH TIME TO KILL YOU MIGHT AS WELL RUN THE EXTRA MILE!"

"That's not fair!"

"MOVE HATHAWAY!"

I turned to Eddie and Mason for help, but they just shrugged with looks of pity.

Cowards.

Whatever. Four miles was a piece of cake. Heck, I ran 10 this morning. What was four more? When everyone else began to join me, I watched as their brows pinched in frustration – much as mine had earlier – every time the sand sucked at their shoes. It was then I realized why we were out here in the first place. We had no idea where we were going to be sent when we graduated. We didn't know who our charges would be (well, they didn't know), where we would be stationed, or the environment we would be living in. In Montana we got plenty of wilderness and snow, but not much water and sand. We needed to be prepared for anything. What if our future charge, say… fell off their yacht? We would be expected to jump in and save them, and swimming in the ocean is very different from swimming in the Academy training pool. Thus, the need to step outside of our comfort zones and expand our knowledge to different surroundings.

Before the last people had even finished, Stan was already shouting new orders. "TIME FOR A SWIM LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! EVERYONE PUT ON A BELT THEN AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS!"

All of the guardians out here with us (there were six not including Stan) held cases that contained a bunch of green, water-proof belts. At first I was confused as to why we needed to wear belts to swim, but then I saw the switch, and once I clicked it on, the belt lit up and a small red light started beeping. The sky and the water were nearly pitch black by now. Only the moon, stars, and single light fixture that the guardians had set up made it possible to see. These would keep us from getting lost in the ocean.

"LISTEN UP! FOR THE NEXT EXERCISE, YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO SWIM OUT TO THAT BUOY," - he pointed to something about 300 yards from the shore that was glowing yellow and bobbing up and down with every passing wave - "AND BACK."

Groaning, we took off our excess clothes – the girls their shorts and the boys their shirts – and prepared to jump into the ocean. I took a few deep breaths in order to bring my pulse down, knowing a crucial part of intense swimming was one's breathing. Bring air in and release slowly. We'd been taught this since we'd first learned to swim.

The near frantic sound of someone breathing had me looking to my right. Shane Reyes, a close friend of Mason's, was almost to the point of hyperventilation. Apparently not everyone had retained the lesson. "Shane," I said, sidling up to him. "What's going on?"

"Rose, a-are there – do you think there's a chance? I-I mean are there going to be, um, will there be..."

"Shane!"

"Sharks. Are there going to be sharks in there?"

I sighed in sympathy. We all had phobias, and unfortunately this was Shane's. "I'm not going to lie to you, Shane. Yes, there are sharks in the ocean," - his breathing grew even more erratic - "but none are going to bother us. I highly doubt that his area has even seen a shark in years. It's not populated by any major food source and I'm pretty sure it isn't a breeding ground or anything. We'll be fine." And then I added, "But you won't be if you don't calm down. Breathe."

He tried taking some deep breaths and that seemed to help, but he continued to shake. I hoped he would pull himself together once we hit the water. We may only be training, but this was still dangerous, life-threateningly so.

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE," Alto shouted. "BEGIN."

I took off, running into the water – which was freezing by the way – till I couldn't anymore, and from that point I jumped. With my whole body submerged the cold nearly took my breath away, but I quickly recovered and started to swim.

Usually when I swam I could easily find a rhythm of strokes, kicks, and breaths and stick to it, but usually when I swam it was in a pool. The ocean was completely different. Waves made it impossible to enter into a steady rhythm because they were unpredictable. A small wave would come and I'd easily go above it, but then a really big wave would follow and, unless I wanted to get slammed in the face, I'd have to go under it. Out here I couldn't zone out or slip into numbness, I had to anticipate, maneuver, and actually fight against the water that tired to force me back to shore.

I could feel my muscles burning while I pushed them to give it their all. This was definitely one of the tougher workouts the Academy had conjured up, but I found myself enjoying it. Sure it was hard, but I knew I could do more. Once we got back to the beach, Alto was going to have another exercise for us and I would put my body through that too because I could. Because I was strong. Because I had worked harder than I ever had in my life these past months so that I could be the best guardian possible for my charge. If Lissa ever fell off a yacht, I would jump in and swim as hard as I needed to in order to save her. Then I'd probably laugh at her, but you get my point.

Finally I, along with a few other novices, reached the glowing buoy. Making a U-turn, I started heading back towards the shore. It was much easier on the way back because the waves were working in my favor instead of pushing against me. This last leg would be a piece of cake.

Of course nothing was ever that simple for me.

I was still about 220 yards away from the shore when I heard the screaming. I stopped swimming and looked around, immediately spotting Shane only 20 feet to my right. He was screaming and kicking and thrashing around like he was possessed or something. Every few seconds he would go underwater and would come up gasping. This would only cause him to freak out even more. The poor guy looked like he was having a panic attack.

I quickly swam over to him and started yelling, "Shane! What's wrong? Shane, calm down! What's going on?"

His wild movements only intensified. "I felt something!" he screamed. "It was a shark! Oh God, help! Help!"

This was bad. Telling him that there was no shark wasn't going to help, and by this point I was pretty sure he actually was having a panic attack. He stopped screaming and was now hyperventilating. On top of that, he was no longer treading water and his flailing only hurt his fight to keep his head from going under. He would resurface choking because his uncontrolled breathing caused him to suck in water. This created even more of a panic. He was drowning and I couldn't go get help. There was no time. So I reacted on instinct. I grabbed Shane and tried to pull him to safety.

But Shane wasn't focused on getting to shore. He was worried about the non-existant shark and staying above the water. In his panic he grabbed me, digging his nails into my skin, and pushed me under, using me as a life preserver of sorts. I tried to push against him, but he was much bigger and stronger than me. I clawed and scratched at him, but he was beyond feeling pain. He was high on adrenaline, fighting for his life, and so was I, but I was failing. I kicked my legs as hard as I could in an attempt to lift us both above the water, but a particularly large wave hit, rocking us, and Shane kneed me in the stomach which knocked my remaining breath out of me.

My lungs burned like a fire had been lit inside of them and my head pounded, screaming for oxygen to reach my brain. I felt my body start to weaken. Muscles refused to work anymore so my kicking and pushing ceased. My vision began to blacken and I knew I was losing consciousness. How long had I been under here? Four? Five Minutes? This was it.

Then it wasn't. I was forcefully yanked out of the water and pulled against something warm and hard. Then I was laid down and something pressed against my mouth, blowing air into it. Forcing life back into me. This happened a few more times till finally the water decided it was time to exit my lungs. Rolling to the side, I gagged and coughed so hard it hurt and salt water blazed an agonizing path up my throat. Strong braces wrapped around me as I continued to expel water from my body, soothing me somehow, anchoring me to life.

When I finished, I was breathing so hard I thought my chest would burst, my heart was pounding, and my limbs felt like jelly. Those strong braces seemed to know that I wasn't able to function, so I was lifted and placed in a lap.

A lap?

I blearily looked up and saw Dimitri. He was studying me with wide, terrified eyes, and if I didn't know any better, I'd say he was trembling. I smiled weakly and scratched out a greeting. "Hey, comrade." I winced. My throat still hurt from the coughing.

"Shh Roza," he whispered. "You're going to be okay now." He closed his eyes and his arms around me tightened. "You're okay. Thank God you're okay."

His words settled over me. I was okay. I wasn't dead. But… what about…, "Shane!" I rasped, trying to sit up. But Dimitri held me in place.

"Shane is fine," he assured me. "Guardian Alto took him to shore since he didn't need immediate mouth-to-mouth resuscitation."

It was then I realized two things. 1) I was, in fact, not on the beach, but in Dimitri's lap on a jet ski. 2) The thing I had felt pressed to my mouth earlier was Dimitri's lips.

Oh. My. Gosh.

My face steamed, but thankfully he couldn't see because it was dark. This moment was going to live in my memories forever. I knew I was going to have dreams of a hot, naked Dimitri riding a jet ski long after this night. (Now I just needed to see him on a mechanical bull… or a unicorn.)

"How are you feeling?" he asked, jarring me from my, erm… inappropriate thoughts.

"Like I just swallowed an ocean and it went down the wrong pipe," I confessed. "Otherwise… I'm fine."

He smiled faintly. "Good. Then I can be mad at you for doing something so stupid!"

Well that took a drastic turn. "Um… what?"

"Never try and rescue a drowning person by simply grabbing them and trying to pull them out of the water. You need a flotation device or, at the very least, something they can hold onto – like a rope or a towel – while you pull them to shore." His jaw clenched in frustration and he subconsciously pulled me even closer. "Did you learn nothing from your lessons at the Academy?"

Just as an FYI: yelling at someone is pretty hard to do – not to mention awkward – when you're holding them in your arms. It's even harder to yell back when you're the one being held, but that didn't stop my anger from flaring, and it certainly didn't stop the words that followed the anger.

"I've learned plenty at the Academy. You, more than anyone, should know that," I practically growled. "And one of the very first things I learned – something that's been pounded into me since I could walk – is that They Come First." He opened his mouth, but I continued before he could say anything. "And I know that they refers to the Moroi, but when they aren't around, why can't they just mean others. Why can't it mean that I will help and protect others at all times, even if my life is forfeit?"

"Rose -"

"It's who I am. You can't ask me to give up such a big part of myself, comrade."

He sighed. "I would never. I just… need you to be more careful. You scare me. I've not known you half a year and the amount of times I've seen you near death or in the hospital is incredible."

I smiled. "That's why you're here, coach. Teach me how to be an invincible god."

Dimitri smiled back, but his tone was solemn and his eyes looked meaningfully into mine "No one is invincible, Rose. We all are vulnerable in some way."

When I made it back to the beach, I was ambushed by Mason and Eddie. Both of them yanked me into a tight group hug that made it hard to breathe, but this time I welcomed it. I had nearly died. I would've never seen them again.

They finally released me – well, Eddie did – and Mason gave me a once over and asked if I was okay or if I was in any pain. "What happened" was repeated frequently in his fussing till Alto put a stop to it by ordering me to go to the camp's infirmary to get checked out and blah blah blah, and then to go to my room and rest and blah blah blah.

Shane was already at the infirmary when I got there, and from the moment he saw me till the moment I left, he was apologizing and thanking me. I apologized too – I'd left some pretty nasty scrapes on his side – but he brushed my concern off and then proceeded to thank me again. It was a relief when I left.

Unfortunately the treatment continued when I entered my room. Meredith began fretting over me, making sure I was comfortable, offering to let me use her dry shampoo so I wouldn't have to stand under the evil water, she even went as far as to check my breaths per minute. All of it was comforting – I was blessed to have such great friends – but this was just too over the top.

The next day at practice with Dimitri we only ran 7 miles, and that was when I had had enough.

"I want to spar," I told him. We'd just finished the run and Dimitri was getting a drink.

He took the bottle from his lips. "Okay."

"Now, before you say no – wait. What?"

"I said okay. Let's spar. I had it in your workout regime for tomorrow, but it seems like you're on a mission to prove something so we'll do it today."

"Hey, I'm not -" I closed my mouth. I totally was on a mission to prove something. Darn him.

"Same take down, kill shot, and point rules apply," he explained, dragging his foot in the sand to create a sparring circle. "First one to 3 wins."

"You're on, comrade. Don't be too upset when I win."

Needless to say, I lost…horribly, and he, of course, took the opportunity to go all zen on me so I'd learn a lesson. How unexpected of him (she thought sarcastically).

"Did you see where your mistakes were?" he asked, slinging his gym bag onto his shoulder.

"Yep, I should've zigged instead of zagged. I always forget to zig. I'm the worst zigger ever."

He rolled his eyes at my tomfoolery, and we started walking back to the lodges. "Your moves were reckless. Sloppy. You threw too much of your effort into the power behind the punch instead of into the precision and form of it, and I know you know the importance of those things. Not to mention the placement of your body was so open a beach ball could've gotten through."

"Okay, I get it," I huffed. "I was cocky and I wanted to prove that I didn't need to be babied after yesterday."

"I'm not sure how fighting like one of the primary campus novices will prove anything."

Fighting like a what?!

I dropped my bag and made a sweep at his knees, but Mr. Ready-for-anything jumped over my leg and came down in a proper fighting stance. I took a step backwards in order to give myself some distance, but I was met with a tree. Oh, this was going to be an interesting setting to fight in.

I turned to face Dimitri again just in time to dodge his foot. Unable to stop the momentum, he hit the tree with a grunt. He had no time to recover before I attacked him with a punch to the gut, which he blocked. I threw another punch, but he side stepped it and grabbed my arm, pulling me close and making it hard to swing at or kick him.

I wasn't completely helpless, though. I latched onto the arm that was holding me and jumped, pulling my legs up to wrap around his neck. I then twisted, flipping him and bringing us both to the ground. I tried keep him on his back in an armbar, but those only tend to work when you are stronger or equally as strong as your opponent. He used his free arm to push my legs off of him and I was forced to let go.

He quickly got to his feet and I did the same, but I hadn't even gotten my footing yet when he came at me with a high kick. I ducked, but stumbled backwards when my foot caught on a root. Stupid wooded terrain.

He, of course, pushed the advantage and aimed a second kick at my abdomen. I blocked it (barely), but lost my balance even more because of it. Before I could fall over, though, and look like a complete idiot, I caught myself on a nearby tree. In a split second he was there, pinning me to the trunk with his body. I couldn't move.

"No fair, comrade," I panted, still straining against him. "You can't use the tree to help you win."

He smirked. "You used it to keep yourself from falling," - I glared at him - "Anyway, that's why we're out here. To teach you guys how to use different surroundings in a fight. This may surprise you, but there is a slim to none chance you will be fighting Strigoi in a sparring ring."

"Then why don't we ever spar outside at the Academy?"

Dimitri shrugged. "We could start if you'd like. You're just always complaining about the cold when you run so I thought we'd wait for the warmer months."

"I do not complain," I insisted in mock outrage. "I state facts."

"You're impossible," he sighed.

I smiled. "And you're dead."

He looked down and found my hand placed over his heart, where it had been since he'd crushed me into the tree. If my hand had held a stake, he'd have killed himself.

When he raise his head again I could tell he was impressed and proud, and that made my chest swell and my heart pound.

"Well done, Rose," he said, stepping back. "Well done."

Right as Dimitri and I cleared the trees on our way to join everyone for breakfast, the sun's last rays hit me, warming the skin they touched, before disappearing altogether. I groaned in disappointment, but then remembered my promise to not waste this last opportunity to enjoy the sun. It may be gone now, but I still had six days left to – as Dimitri would put it – use my surroundings to my advantage. In other words…

I'd be breaking curfew in the morning.

Training came and went without any trouble, and the only special treatment I received was from Mason who swam close to me anytime we were in the water, watching me like a hawk as if someone was just going to pull me under for the heck of it. I rolled my eyes, but let him continue to play the fearless protector. I'd probably do the same if our roles were reversed.

When curfew hit, I was in my room like a good little novice. I took a shower, hung out with Meredith, set an alarm, and got in bed – all the things I was supposed to do.

Meredith eventually fell asleep, and shortly after I was pulling on a bikini, pushing aside our black out curtains and…darn… of course the guardians had put some fancy alarm system on the windows. I'd have to do this the hard way. I opened my door a crack and checked out the hallway. No one was there so I slipped out and closed the door silently.

I had no idea how the guardians were monitoring us. Not many had come with us on this trip, the Academy obviously being top priority, and so I'd guess that no more than three or four at a time would be used to patrol while the others slept. So the question was: Will they be in the lobby of the lodges or stalking the grounds?

Both apparently.

Upon reaching the lobby, I found only one guardian, Guardian Loss, sitting at the desk, which meant that they had one in the boys' lodge and one or two making the rounds. It shouldn't be too hard to get past one guardian.

I grabbed some pebbles from the fake potted plant that stood in the hallway and threw them as hard as I could at the far wall at the end of the hall, creating a sound similar to hail hitting a windshield. I then ducked into what appeared to be a supply closet and waited for Loss to run by and investigate. As predicted, she did and as soon as she passed I eased out of the closet and entered the lobby.

All I needed to do was get out the front door, but as I was passing the desk something caught my eye. It was a small and complex looking device, but I did recognize the logo that had been on the alarm system and the on and off switch.

Wonder what this would do?

"But I swear I didn't do anything," I voice that sounded a lot like Desiree Richard's squeaked. "I was just going to the bathroom."

"How do you explain the pebbles?" Guardian Loss demanded.

"I -"

"Never mind. I don't care about teenage pranks or dares. I'll let you off with a warning, just this once."

I felt bad that my actions had gotten someone else in trouble, and I would've stepped up and said something if Loss had decided to dole out a punishment, but she hadn't so we were both in the clear. Besides, Desiree owed me. In 8th grade I told her crush at the time, Timmy Colbern, that I'd heard she was a good kisser and an hour later I saw them making out. She'd never returned the favor – not that she needed to tell boys I was a good kisser to get them to want to – so I suppose today was the day.

Once outside, I nearly had to catch my breath. The sun was high in the sky and shining at full force. I closed my eyes and looked up, feeling warmth instantly. This was totally worth breaking the rules for. Not wanting to stand there long, I ran towards the trees, watching my surroundings as I went. I lucked out, though, because just as I hit the wooded area, Guardian Oded rounded the corner. I waited behind a tree until he disappeared from view then set off for the beach. From here I was home free. I doubted they had a guardian searching the woods. Too big of an area and too many hiding places and obstacles. Besides, no one could've gotten past the lobby… well, no one should've gotten past. But these things do happen.

The beach was wonderful. I stayed there for as long as I could, basking in the sun. About two hours before I'd have to meet Dimitri, I got up, put my bikini back on (of course I took it off, who wants tan lines?), and walked back to my room. Avoiding the outside patrol was easy since there were only two, and getting to my room was even easier because I now had a way to deactivate the alarm system.

Pulling open my window, I slipped back inside and went to sleep.

I continued to do this through the rest of the week. I'd train with Dimitri, train with my class, go to bed, sneak out, tan on the beach, sneak back to my room, and sleep for one or two hours. Then I'd get up and do it all again. It was a good system. Sure I was tired, but I kept up… mostly.

All too soon our time here was drawing to a close. This was the last time I'd be sneaking out before we packed up and flew home tonight.

I made it to the beach without trouble – as per usual – took of my bikini, laid in my usual spot, and closed my eyes. I was going to miss this.

Only an hour into my sun-soaking, I heard something that made my eyes shoot open. Footsteps. Someone was coming. I quickly got up, grabbed my suit, and ran to a close sand dune, jumping behind it right as none other than Stan Alto stepped into view. And he was definitely searching for something.

Or someone.

What had I done that tipped him off? I'd been careful. I'd avoided the patrols. I'd even put back the alarm deactivation device (which totally could've come in handy in the future).

No matter. I'd just have to sneak past him, get to my room, and deny everything if questioned. I hastily slipped on my bikini bottoms and then reached for my top only to find that it wasn't there. I peeked over the dune and saw it laying in the sand where I had been previously.

No! No no no no no no! Why did the universe hate me?!

Okay. Breathe. I needed to calm down. What were my options? I could try digging a tunnel to it, but that would take too long. I could try the same distraction technique I used on Guardian Loss, but I didn't have anything to throw. I could hide here and hope he never comes this way, but guardians were thorough. Every part of this beach would be searched. I'd have to make a break for it and pray to whoever was up there watching that no one would catch me. After making sure Alto's back was to me, I got up and sprinted towards the woods, using one arm to cover and, well, support myself.

Once among the trees, I relaxed a bit. I could do this. Stan was on the beach. I just needed to get past the regular patrols – something I'd been doing all week – one last time.

Or, that would've been all I needed to do if Alto hadn't brought reinforcements.

I had been close to the edge of the woods when I was forced to back-track at the sound of two more sets of footsteps. Three guardians for one novice?! Maybe I should've been flattered. No, no time for that. Time to run.

I'd have to circle around and wait for them to finish searching that area. Every other route either involved cameras or extensive open space, and neither of those were options at this point. Maybe I could hide out in a tree – oof!

Someone had stepped out from behind a tree and into my path. I'd nearly been at full speed so when we hit, we hit hard, and both of us tumbled to the ground. When the world stopped moving, I took stock of the situation: My back was on the leafy floor. I could tell because twigs were poking me. And Dimitri was on top of me. I could tell because I knew the weight of his body on mine, I knew the feel of his soft hair as it brushed my cheeks, and I knew those eyes – albeit they were usually weren't as huge with shock. I guess that answered the question as to whether or not he noticed my state of undress.

"Rose..."

His pupils were dilated and he sounded a bit breathless. That made two of us. But with me being me, I tried to brush it all off.

"Oh. Hey, comrade! Come here often?"

"Rose," - he cleared his throat - "Rose. Where are your… your clothes."

I squirmed (which was a bad idea because he could essentially feels every move I made) and he swallowed thickly. "Erm. Well, it's kind of a funny story," I laughed shakily. "But I can sense that now is not the time for it, so the short version is that my top is on the beach where Stan is at the moment searching for a novice that has been sneaking out after curfew everyday to tan."

He seemed… relieved? "So, to confirm, you're… topless because you were tanning?"

My brows furrowed. "Of course. Why else would...oh." I could feel my face heat at the implication. Though I suppose he wasn't too far off. I was in the woods, half naked, with a man. In my defense, only one of those three things was my fault.

Dimitri was still a distracting pressure on top of me, and my mind flipped through images and memories that were never far from the surface. Memories of when our bodies had been fit together similarly and my heart had been pounding with his – much like it was now.

It was my turn to be breathless. "Dimitri..."

I could see his desire as he licked his lips and his gaze flickered to my chest for the briefest of moments. His eyes snapped to mine again before he squeezed his shut.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Don't be," I told him. Then I kissed his cheek and he took that as a cue to get up before one of us did something stupid. Well… even more stupid. I stood as well and put my back to him.

"Here," I tuned to find a topless Dimitri with one hand over his eyes and the other holding his shirt out to me.

Dang.

"I'm pretty sure losing more clothes isn't going to help our predicament, comrade," I commented, shamelessly checking him out (which he couldn't see)

He sighed. "Put the shirt on Rose."

I stuck my tongue out at him (which he also couldn't see) and did as commanded.

"I'm dressed."

He opened his eyes, looked at me, and said something in Russian. I'd have to google what it meant later.

"So what's with the search party," I asked.

"Guardian Alto is convinced that someone has been sneaking out since all of the window alarms are disabled."

"Then device was an all or nothing kind of thing, so... Stan doesn't know it's been me."

"He has an inkling."

"But no proof."

He raised an eyebrow. "And what's to say I won't turn you in?"

"You won't turn me in because you know why I've been coming out here. It's the same reason you get up before our sessions everyday and run outside rather than inside."

He looked at me hard for a moment before caving in. "I'll lead them away," - I smiled - "though, I have no idea what I'm going to say to explain how I lost my shirt."

"I don't think they'll care. I know I wouldn't."

"These are my colleagues, Rose."

"Which means they'll believe you if you tell them that you fought a bear and it ate your shirt right before you round-house kicked it into the next century." Cue the eyebrow raise. "Fine, tell them that you were going to check the water for the wayward novice, but your shirt blew away."

"Your horrible at making up excuses."

"Good thing I'm not in your shoes then."

He smirked. "Next time I'd prefer you take the shoes."

"Next time?"

But he was already walking away. "Wait 5 minutes and then follow. I'll have drawn them far enough away by then so they won't hear or see you."

"Thank you, Dimitri."

He paused but didn't turn around. "Of course, Roza."

On the flight home a bunch of novices were gossiping and whispering about a guardian that had supposedly fought a bear and left the fight unscathed, but the bear had taken his shirt. No, the guardian used his shirt to strangle the bear. No, the guardian gave the bear his shirt to appease it. No, the guardian lead the bear in the wrong direction by letting it follow the scent on his shirt.

There were many versions to the story, but only I knew that said shirt was neatly packed away with my other belongings, and, bear or no bear, the guardian wouldn't be getting his shirt back.

AN: Thank you so much for taking the time to read this crazy long chapter! I would've split it into two, but had no idea where to do so. You guys are wonderful for sticking it out!

Also, I am so sorry. I broke my promise that I would make the next Romitri chapter fluffy. This was obviously not a fluffy chapter. It was supposed to be, but then I had to go and throw a near death experience in there. At least we got to see Dimitri on a jet ski because of it:)

A lot happened in this chapter so please let me know what you thought in a comment or review!

You all are awesome! Have a serendipitous day! And for those of you in America: Happy Thanksgiving!