Author's note:

I have some very exciting news! The very first original work that I had finished two years ago is now available in print! The book title is 'The Rose Trilogy Part 1: Pandora's Box' and it's the same genre as the VA series and the like. If you have liked my VA fanfics so far, then I think that you'd be in for a treat with this original work. If you have time, please have a look at the full summary of the story by typing 'Jocelyn McCallum' into Amazon or any other online book seller and it should hopefully come up with 'Pandora's Box'... I hope that you guys will like the story enough to want to buy the book!

Cheers everyone for liking TMOS so far and I'm so sorry about the really long periods of time in between updates! Anyway, here is the next chapter with a small chat with Christian to start off and a rather intimate scene at the end of the chapter! I hope you guys like it!

Lyn xx

~x~ Chapter 53 ~x~

After dinner, I excused myself from the others and headed over to the training room to meet Christian. When I walked in, he was simply resting on his back on a pile of mats.

"So what happened to Eric Cooper?"

"Well, as you saw, he's been suspended."

"He finally got caught red-handed, huh? I never really thought of him as some that bad until our conversation before."

"I guess he's just the perfect example of the saying 'You can't judge a book by its cover'." I scoffed. "But with everyone who's been telling me this past week that they didn't think Eric was my cup of tea, I wonder why I haven't been paying much attention to their warnings."

"Since you've brought it up, I have to admit that I've been pretty curious about that," he commented cautiously. "You seem like you like to rebel once in a while but definitely not someone who would totally ignore a good piece of advice."

"You know, that's one of the things that I don't understand at all as to what's been happening this past week." I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "But you know what, now that he's out of the picture for who knows how long, I think I'll just take things a little as they come."

"This isn't just some light topic though, Kylie. Shouldn't you try to work out what it is that makes the situation feel out of place so that it doesn't happen again?"

"If Eric hadn't been suspended indefinitely, I would do just that. But he won't be around and I'd rather not turn my brain to mush with over thinking while he's not here. So long as he's not here, I don't really need to think about taking precautions from him."

"Hm, you do have a point," he murmured in agreement. "You probably have enough to worry about already without thinking too much about Eric, especially now that he's not here to inflict harm anymore."

"Precisely." I cheered, throwing my hands up into the air. "I've been meaning to ask, but how's O'Connor been holding up so far?"

"He was a little on edge at first about not being able to stay in touch with the social happenings around here but I think he's starting to ease up now. Because of the ban on social activities, I think he's finally begun to realise that staying up every night with other socialites isn't actually that important."

"He used to do that all the time?"

"Yeah."

"That must've been so tiring." I whistled. "Hats-off to him for having managed to stay atop of it all. it can't be easy trying to keep up an appearance, especially such a dickish one."

"That's probably why he likes me. He knows that he doesn't have to keep up that kind of appearance around me. He doesn't have to put up a show to attract attention or try to please me. He knows that I won't judge him."

"I hope you do advise him when he steps way out of line though."

"Sometimes but he doesn't step out of line very often so there hasn't really been a need for it. Besides, since you've arrived, you'd certainly told him off more than enough times."

"Someone had to. It's not healthy to live the way he did. He'll end up making some seriously scary enemies and he'd be wiped out before he could even see it coming."

"I'll protect him before something like that happens. I won't let anything harmful happen to my friend."

I stared at him for a moment before bursting into laughter. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you really are his guard, aren't you? He might be a little big-headed to notice it at the moment but without you around he'd probably have been attacked several times over for his behaviour. You're observant enough to notice when someone intends to hurt him and as his friend you'd definitely warn him about it."

"I can't say that it hasn't happened a couple of times," he sighed. "He can be observant at times but, at other times, he's really oblivious to harmful intentions."

"I had a feeling he might be one of those types. The ambitious but unable to sense danger lurking type."

"That just about sums him up. I'm impressed, Kylie."

"I've met all sorts of people out there, Christian. It's not hard to recognise his type of personality. There were plenty of those in my school and a lot of them got heavily knocked down by their competitors just because they didn't see it coming."

"You know, if we ever manage to get the school's approval, I would love to see what kind of world you'd been living in up until now, Kylie," he muttered hesitantly with awe and wonder underlying his words.

"Hm… you never know. Maybe when things calm down around here and I stop being such a novelty, we can ask our lovely headmaster and see what he says." I suggested with a small smile. "After all, I am allowed to visit my friends out there every now and then during the holidays and the like."

"You're allowed out?"

"With supervision, of course," I added. "I'm not a prisoner here because they've come to terms that I had a life out there. I'm a little different to other Dhampir or Moroi orphans, after all."

"Considering how you haven't grown up at an academy of some sort, that's pretty obvious," he scoffed. "There is one thing I don't really understand though. If you have been making kills outside of the Academy, how have you not been caught before?"

I pursed my lips at his question and actually had to think about it for a moment. I didn't want to flat out lie to him and it took me a moment to realise that I could tell him the whole truth.

"I guess that legal Guardians don't really keep too much track about the rogue hunters out there. You know, the academy drop-outs who decide to hunt just because they think that it's cooler that way. Although I don't have the same outlook as they do, I suppose that in a way, I'm just like them. I'm not a drop-out, but it is a fact that I have been hunting by myself outside the jurisdiction of the academies."

"But haven't you run across any Guardians before this?"

"Not really." I told him honestly. "I've bumped into my fair share of Moroi out there because of there being various specialised bars near the area where I worked. Because of that, there were more than a few Strigoi lurking around."

"And they never thought to tell you to go to an Academy?"

"Oh they did." I laughed. "I just didn't pay them any attention."

"Why the hell not? Didn't you realise how dangerous of a situation you were in?"

"Christian," I tried to reason. "I'd been living like that for a good couple of years. I wasn't going to ditch my friends and life out there just because I found out that there were specialised Academies spread around the world to train people like you and me to fight. I could already fight properly and had brought down more than I can count. The Moroi told me about the academies but I never saw any need to go to one."

"It's kind of scary that you can kick pretty much all our asses despite not having gone through the same training as us…"

"I think it's because I haven't gone through the exact same training as you that I can kick your asses." I grumbled. "Think about it. If I had gone through the same training, then I wouldn't have as many tricks up my sleeve, would I? You'd all know what I could do as I progressed and in theory you should be able to think up counter-techniques."

"So you're suggesting that we should all undergo different training?"

"That's wouldn't be such a bad idea. Of course, we'd all have to start somewhere and it'd definitely have to be the basics. But once we each get the hang of things, we should be allowed to develop our own techniques. That way, it keeps each other guessing and we're constantly forced to improve and really extend our skills."

"Have you mentioned that to Guardian Belikov?"

"Uh… no?"

"I think you should, Kylie. We've had pretty much the same training programme for decades and maybe even centuries. It wouldn't hurt to change things a little and change our fighting style just a little. If not change it then at least have the option of a different fighting style. I mean, not everyone going to be able to adapt to the type of martial arts you do but we could certain adapt some of it."

"That's because the martial arts I use is a pretty rare form and combination. I got lucky and was able to train with two different masters and learned the different techniques before trying to combine them."

"Does that actually work?"

"Mostly." I told him, stretching my arms a little just to get the blood running in my body again after having been still for so long. "It's the same as how fighting styles have developed over the centuries. Everything starts from something and then slowly they get shaken up a little to adapt to personal fighting styles."

"So no one else knows your fighting style?"

"There'll be lots of people who know of it, like martial arts masters for example. They'd probably still totally kick my ass if I had to fight cleanly against one. But I have yet to encounter a Strigoi who knows proper traditional martial arts hence I've been able to stay alive and relatively unscathed. I'd be in trouble if I met lots of opponents who were at my level of traditional martial arts."

"Not to mention your bizarre pressure points technique. That really is unfair."

"It's still a clean fight. It's a trick but it's not dirty." I retorted a little defensively. "Besides, I don't use it often during class. In fact, I haven't used it since that first fight against the quartet. I know that it wouldn't be very fair since you guys don't really seem to have a grasp on pressure points and all that."

"Where is that fighting style from?"

"I think really old traditional Chinese myth and martial arts."

"You really did get lucky with meeting your martial arts masters," he marvelled. "I know of Chinese martial arts but I'd never heard of one that used pressure points as an act of defence or offence."

"I think if you looked hard enough, you could probably find it in books. As to the teachings of that fighting style, I reckon it's gotten pretty lost over the eras and different dynasties."

"You make it sound really old…"

"That's because it is really old." I scoffed.

"How do you feel about the assault course tomorrow?"

"I've seen it when I went round on that signature hunt exercise last week. It's not too bad. The way I remember it, it's a little similar to the courses I used to do whenever I went on those voluntary military camp weekends."

"You went on military camp weekends?"

"I needed some kind of a challenge to my training and almost nothing is more intense and challenging than the military."

"That's still pretty extreme, Kylie."

"It's nothing compared to the proper training they give here since they set the levels according to dhampir standards rather than human."

"No wonder you have a rather strange fashion sense. You really do love wearing those combat trousers, don't you?"

"They're really comfortable and practical." I defended. "All those pockets and it's even waterproof!"

"Thanks for agreeing to talk to me, Kylie, but I should head back. I've still got work to finish."

"Now that you mention it, I should head on over to the Elementary Division as well."

"You really are dedicated to those kids."

"They're really adorable and they just make me smile whenever I see them."

"The little Dragomir looks really attached to you from what we saw in the dining hall."

"Trace is so sweet and lovely. I could spend all my time with him and never get bored. If I didn't become an assigned Guardian, I would happily join the Elementary Division to help out with the little kids." I declared. "See you around, Christian."

"Try not to get roped into another strange relationship now that you're available again. No doubt word would spread soon enough about Eric's suspension and everyone will be finding out soon enough about you not being with him anymore."

"I have a feeling that in this Academy, no one else is nearly as overly forward and quick to snatch as Eric Cooper. I should be safe for a couple of days at least." I sighed. "Hopefully…"

"What do the others know about it?"

"They know that he's stepped out of line and that my agreement with Eric has definitely broken off. Ozera's the only one who has any idea as to what could've really happened."

"That's not surprising. I reckon he's known about Eric's true nature for a long time. He hasn't particularly like Eric for a while now."

"Apparently something happened and Ozera knows about it. What had happened I have no idea but it's not my business to pry into."

"Well, whatever it was, it's passed now and you don't have to worry about Eric trying to prey on you anymore. At least, not until he gets back from his suspension. See you later, Kylie."

With that, Christian and I went different directions. He headed back towards the dorm while I headed for the Elementary Division. When I got there, Jacks and Quinn were already there fawning over Trace. Since Jacks and Quinn basically hogged Trace all to themselves, I got to spend more time with the other kids as well. I was however somewhat surprised to see that Ali was nowhere in sight.

Once it was past bed time and I had helped put all the kids to bed, Jacks and Quinn headed back first. As I was making my way back to the dorms, I was surprised when a firm grip suddenly circled around my wrist.

"Ali?" I stammered in surprise at his silence.

He walked with a brisk pace, taking ridiculously long strides making it a little difficult for me to keep up with him. He didn't stop until we reached Aunty Jules' office in the Elementary Division. Ali shut the door behind us and locked the door. He also proceeded to draw all the blinds so that no one could look into the room. I had to say that for the first time since I could remember, I was a little intimidated by the intense emotion swirling in his eyes.

It was dangerous, but the danger wasn't directed towards me. I hazarded a guess that Eric Cooper was the cause for the dangerous aura surrounding Ali at the moment.

"Um… Ali?"

"Just give me a moment, Kai," he told me through gritted teeth.

I kept my mouth shut and simply took a seat on the sofa while he paced a little. Considering how angry he was, it was understandable that he wasn't with the kids this evening. Had he been like that since he found out about what happened? That was at least two hours ago… He'd been fuming for two whole hours?

"Kai, did you know what was happening with Eric Cooper?" he asked me eventually as he finally stopped pacing and turned to face me with a stern glare.

"Uh…"

"Kai, what were you thinking? Did you know what he was really like? Is it true that you knew what he was after?"

"Kind of…"

"Why did you stay with him?" he growled, his voice low, deadly and startlingly threatening.

"Ali, I thought that it was normal amongst Moroi boys. Hell, it is normal amongst Moroi boys. If my memory is right, Rose Hathaway was in the same situation once."

"But you are not Rose Hathaway. You are not the reckless partier that she was before she reformed. You are also not just a mere dhampir. You are also a royal. Seriously, Kai, what the hell were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that he would get bored of me soon enough and certainly before things got so out of hand." I retorted defensively. "Ali, I understand that I worried you, but I don't get why you're reacting like this."

I winced when he suddenly took my hands in his in a vice grip. He sat down beside me on the sofa and turned me so that we faced each other. "Kalster… the very thought of some brat abusing you makes me want to break all the rules. It makes me want to hunt him down and beat him till there's no breath left in him."

"Ali, that would be murder of a Moroi and, royal or not, that is a very serious crime." I muttered. "I wouldn't be able to bear it if you got sent away for beating the crap out of someone who almost abused me."

"Kai, he did abuse you. He bit you lip hard enough to draw blood and don't even get me started on the scratches on your back. It's unforgivable. If I see him, I will kill him."

"It's a good thing that he's now away from the Academy then, huh?" I joked, trying to lighten up the situation.

Frustration flickered across his expression and he tugged my hands so that I fell into him. His arms wrapped around me and his hand pressed my head against his chest. I was shocked by the fierce pounding of his heart and I closed my eyes in guilt. Hesitantly, I wrapped my arms around his waist and my hands fisted on his back, clutching at his shirt.

"I'm sorry, Ali. I really am."

"You've got to stop doing this to me, Kai," he whispered with a broken voice. "I have never met someone who makes me react and feel the way you do. You make me feel far too impulsive sometimes."

"I don't mean to worry you guys. I guess that things just have a tendency to go much further out of hand than I anticipate."

"I don't want to see you get hurt anymore."

"I don't want to hurt anymore either." I grumbled.

For a while, neither of us said anything. We simply stayed in silence, basking in each other's company. Being in this situation now, it really made me remember how much I loved being in Ali's arms. The sense of comfort and protection always put me at ease straight away. No matter how I felt, if I was in Ali's arms, I would calm down right away.

At least, that was how it used to be.

But now something felt a little different. Now that I really acknowledged the fact that it wasn't just me who'd grown over the years but Ali as well, I couldn't help noticing all the differences between us. This felt a little different to the crush that I used to have on him. This was a whole lot stronger and for the first time, I felt the flutter of butterflies in my stomach as I leaned against him.

Just being here made my heart pound in my chest. How I hadn't noticed this change in my emotions towards Ali before I had no idea. Maybe it was because I was so caught up with everything else that I just didn't have the chance to realise. This was what I knew it should feel like. The slight fluttering of the butterflies, the empty-headedness, the inability to think straight, the lightness of the body, and not to mention the heart pounding against the chest like it was trying to break out through the ribs.

Real attraction wasn't something that needed thinking about. It was something that would just creep up on you until it was too late for you to go back. Being with Ali made me feel all of that. Just thinking about him made me want to stay by his side.

Gee… imagine that. The crush that I used to have on him was returning ten-fold. If the others heard about this, I'd never hear the end of it, especially not from Joe!