A.N: I am from England, but am trying to write to as large an audience as possible, so am trying to change the way I write a little, like saying 'Elevator' instead of 'Lift' etc. One thing I won't change is 'Autumn' to 'Fall' mostly because I think Autumn sounds better that the latter. I will also spell colour with a 'u'. If I say anything else particularly English/Northern (we have a lot of weird sayings up here XD) then let me know and I'll explain/change it. Enjoy chapter 2 :) xx

Disclaimer: I don't own characters and such like.

It was Monday morning to me and the sun was just setting over the western mountains. The Sun's final beams cast orange light over our naked bodies as they tried to fend off the night. I awoke to Dimitri kissing my hair and breathing deeply. He must have realised that I had woken up because he held me closer to his body. I sighed and looked into his eyes. The dark eyes that could hold a thousand emotions; that could say more in a glance than a lifetime of speaking. As he gazed down at me, those eyes that I loved told me of his love, lust and... regret? In a second, the truth came crushing back to me, as I remembered everything that would happen today – It was the day Dimitri left to fight the Strogoi.

Dimitri had been selected to lead one of the offensive movements against the Strogoi. The group of twenty or so was deemed too close to court, so had to be 'taken out' – even the Royals had agreed that an offensive was the best option. As I was Lissa's main guardian, and as she was now Queen, I had to stay behind and protect her. I protested them taking Dimitri – losing him again after everything would just hurt too much, it would awaken memories that needed to stay locked away. Lissa was going to protest the decision, but Dimitri refused, saying that he needed to protect her. And me. I tried to change his mind, persuade him to stay. Although he was over what he had done when he had been Strogoi, I think he still felt he needed to redeem himself. And on some level, I think he needed this to redeem himself and find peace, and so help me if I were to take that from him.

I hadn't realised that I was crying until Dimitri wiped a tear away with his thumb. He sat up and pulled me to his chest, holding me tightly in his strong arms, rocking me ever so slightly. He buried his hair face in my hair. "Oh Roza" was all he said. He held me even tighter to his chest and breathed in his scent. It wrapped around me, filling my lungs and making my world spin. He smoothed down my hair, helping me calm down. We sat like that for an immeasurable amount of time, held in each other's arms. I heard Dimitri's phone deep and as he reached over to check it, I already know it was time for him to leave. He confirmed my fears, by lifting my chin, kissing me lightly on the lips and looking into my eyes. "It's time." I simply nodded and dragged myself out of bed.

I let Dimitri shower first and padded to the kitchen and got juice out of the fridge. I didn't feel hungry – I felt sick. As I poured myself a glass a noticed something in the corner of my eye that wasn't normally there, a duffle bag. Of course he would have already packed, I thought. It's Dimitri, he's always ready, always prepared. I heard the water shut off and a minute later Dimitri came out, fully dressed in Military style black trousers and a grey T-shirt. If he weren't about to leave me and possibly get killed, I might have registered how hot he looked in it. As it was, I could hardly look at him. I had to seek refuge from his intense eyes, watching me as I stared at the kitchen counter. As I tried to slip past him to go shower, he reached out and grabbed my hand. "Roza," he said, almost inaudibly, "I have to..." I knew were this was going; we had been fighting about his decision for weeks. But today, I couldn't fight anymore, and when I glanced into his eyes, I knew he didn't want to fight anymore. I pulled my hand out of his "I know" I whispered, using all my self control and went into the bathroom to turn on the shower. If I had stayed looking into his eyes, I would have broken down; thrown myself into his arms and begged him not to go. But he would have. He would still have left and it would be harder for both of us. So I had to stay strong, just for a little while longer.

When I emerged from the bathroom, I dressed in my Guardian uniform – Lissa had given me the weekend off so I could 'say goodbye.' It sounded so final, like I was signing his death warrant. She had offered me today as well, but I declined; I knew had to stay busy or else I would go mad. As I walked into the kitchen, I saw that he had been waiting for me, leaning against the counter top; my own Russian God in combats. "Come on, let's go." He said, as though nothing was wrong; but there was another level to his voice, a thin layer of sadness I think only I would of noticed, it was in his eyes too. As we walked out of our apartment door and down the hall, he kept his hands at his sides, not touching me, I couldn't figure out why. Then I remembered how I had pulled away from him this morning. Did he think I was going to pull away from him again? As we stepped into the elevator I reached out and took his hand in mine. He intertwined his fingers with mine and let out a breathe neither of us knew he had been holding, kissing my hair as the elevator reached the ground floor.

It was dark by the time we headed outside and the Sun had lost its battle with the dark. The moon gave out a hazy light through a thin blanket of clouds and there was a wind blowing from the south, rustling through the trees and freeing amber leaves from their branches. Old fashioned looking street lamps lined the main paths through precisely pruned gardens of night scented flowers, which suspiciously stayed in full bloom throughout the year. The smell of Jasmine filled the autumn air. I always loved this time of year; it was always a time for change. I just prayed that it wouldn't be this year, too much had changed already.

I was pulled out of my thoughts as Dimitri suddenly pulled him into his strong arms, holding me close to him. I wrapped my arms around him too, and we stood in each other's arms not saying a word until I heard someone clear their throat behind me. We stepped apart and I wanted to punch whoever it was for spoiling our moment together. "Your late, Guardian Belikov. We are assembling on the East runway." It was Hans. Dimitri simply nodded but didn't move away from me. Instead he put his hands either side of my face and bending down so our faces were level. He looked into my eyes, locking me in his gaze. I could see all of his love, lust, passion. But sadness marked his dark eyes also. "I will come back to you Roza. And I will always love you, never forget that." With that he gave me a passionate, fleeting kiss on the lips that confirmed everything he had said and so much more. Then he turned away before I could respond, walking with Hans to the airfield on the other side of court.

It only took two minutes to walk to Lissa's quarters as I had to live close by. I slipped my Guardian mask into place as I stepped into the elaborate marble and gold foyer and walked straight past the receptionist, Bethany I think her name was – she knew by now that I was allowed to go straight through and to not try and stop me. "Wait, Wait Guardian Hathaway" She came clicking up next to me in her stilettos, making her a few inches taller than me. She was a pretty Mori with dark hair and green eyes the same colour as oak leaves. She must have only been in her early twenties and she was pleasant enough. But today I was not in the mood for small talk. "Her Majesty isn't here Miss. Hathaway." She continued when I didn't respond. That stopped me though. I spun round to look at her "What? Where is she?" I must have shocked her, as she jumped a little when I turned around. "She is at the East airfield Miss. Wishing the Guardians good luck." I hated it when she called me 'Miss', but as the information sunk in, I didn't take the time to correct her. I torn out of the building and ran as fast as I could to the airfield. All the running Dimitri had made me do was really coming into its own. I didn't know why I was running; to seek comfort from Lissa's presence or to see Dimitri again. I decided to go for both.

When I reached the airfield I went straight to Lissa. I saw the Guardians being sorted into groups and sent to their vehicle. I saw Dimitri, face unreadable, listening to the orders being given to him. His duffle bag was still over his shoulder – he looked ready for anything. I felt someone touch my arm and knew who it was before even looking. "You okay?" asked Lissa in a soft voice. When I turned to look at her, she must have seen how much this hurt, because she pulled me into her arms. "Some Guardian mask" I muttered and I heard her laugh, a lilting and musical noise. "Rose, we have been friends what, fourteen years? Do you really think I can't tell when you're upset? I know I would be." She said the last part softly and I looked over to where Dimitri now stood, talking to one of his team members. As if sensing I was looking at him, he turned his head and looked into my eyes. I swayed, stopping myself before I breached all kinds of protocol and ran to him. As if reading my mind, Lissa touched my arm to get my attention. "Go to him Rose" she said and nodded slightly at me. I smiled at her in way of thanks and pushed through the Guardians in front of my. Hans stepped in my way "where do you think-" Lissa cut him off from behind me "Let her go" and he stepped aside. There were some perks to having a queen for a best friend. "Dimitri" I called out to him and he came to meet me in the middle. I kissed him with everything I had in me; all of my passion and love poured into that kiss. I had to tell him how much I needed him to come back to me. He held me around the waist and I wrapped my arms around his neck. This time I broke the kiss but we didn't move apart. "I love you Dimitri. Make sure you come back to me. I've lost you too many times to lose you again." I whispered close to tears. He smiled down at me, moving a piece of hair behind my ear before speaking. "Don't worry Roza, you're not getting rid of me that easily." He said making me laugh. Behind us, I could hear the starting of engines and I knew our time was up. Dimitri was about to speak, but i silenced him with a quick but powerful kiss. "I know," I said nodding, "Go." He crushed me into his arms again, kissing the top of my head and breathing in as if memorising the scent of my hair. I closed my eyes, etching this moment into my memory. It would be the only thing that would keep me sane while he was gone.

He finally pulled away and I opened my eyes. "Take care of yourself, Dimitri" said Lissa from behind me. I hadn't noticed she was their while I was wrapped up in my own world. He nodded to her and jogged to his awaiting SUV. As they set off, I felt tears start to run down my face. I hastily wiped them away and tried to regain control. Lissa put her arms around me again and we went back to court.

I got into the back of the SUV and watched my Roza being led away by the queen. It broke my heart to leave her after leaving her so many times before, but I had to do this, to truly prove to myself that the world of darkness was no longer my own, that it was no longer part of my life. I was going to destroy the Strogoi that changed me and made me almost lose everything. "Right boys," Hans said from the driver's seat, glancing back at us in the rear view mirror, "here's the plan."

Intense stuff. Sorry it was a bit depressing but it showed how much they love each other. Liking the sneaky Dimitri's POV at the end, don't worry we hear more from him a little later. I'm going to try and post chapter 3 this week as well, saying as I'm on holiday in Turkey for two weeks from the 20th to the 5th. I'll tell you all if I see Abe XD oh and thanks to those who commented, they were most appreciated. Again I hope you all enjoyed :)

Gina xx