So I'm alive... I probably had you doubting that for a while.
I'm so sorry about going MIA, but here's a new chapter, and I hope that I'll be able to get back to a more regular update schedule in the future.

If you want to hear my reasons for not updating or making any sort of contact, then you totally deserve an explanation. It's at the bottom of the chapter, and it's really long, so sorry 'bout that.

Special thanks to those that showed concern and checked up on me- since I didn't get back to some, this chapter in dedicated to you in lieu of a reply back to let you know that I was actually alive and hadn't abandoned this story.

Chapter 14

June 3rd- 18 days until the wedding

It took two hours to reach a coach park on the outskirts of the town we'd begged Hans to stop at. The lack of momentum caused a few of those that had been sleeping to wake up just as Hans stepped out of the driver's seat and into the aisle address our team.

"We've got to stop to refuel," he explained, "and since it's lunchtime, we'll be stopping here for long enough for you to have a break and get something to eat."

A cheer went up around the bus, no doubt because caffeine was on the horizon. Forget kids in a candy store- Guardians in a coffee shop was a better analogy. Then again, after living on ration packs for a few days, maybe the thought of proper food was adding to their excitement.

I had my heart set on scoffing down several donuts of various varieties, but first, there were some much smaller rings to be purchased.

After making sure that the markings on our (almost dry) clothes were covered up, Dimitri and I left the bus with the rest of the guardians, following them into the large food court before slipping out of a back door. If anyone noticed us, they'd probably figure we'd snuck off to make out rather than go to a jewellery shop- the sole reason for our convoy stopping here in the first place. Secrecy on that reason Hans' condition, though really I didn't see why it was such a problem to stop and get lunch anyway. If anything, it would make him more popular. Just because we were highly trained warriors, it didn't mean we were particularly fond of long car journeys.

And, hello, as the winning team of the whole Tournament, we freaking deserved a treat.

The fact that I had come joint first with Dimitri at the world's most prestigious Guardian event hadn't really sunk in yet. Much like the other similar times in my life- getting my first molnija marks, graduation in general, being officially reinstated as Lissa's Guardian- the whole thing was kind of surreal.

Maybe I had an issue with accepting praise, I mused as we walked down the street. Then again, maybe not. I could practically hear Christian's snarky response to that- your only problem is that you don't get enough of it.

I silently cussed out mental-Christian and hurried to keep up with Dimitri. Due to the time constraint, he was moving at a pace that was a comfortable walk for him, but had me running every third step just to stay level. Damn those long legs.

Dimitri had pulled up a map of the town and directions to the jeweller's on his phone, which was currently directing us towards an alley that looked like the kind of place humans would avoid, and Dhampirs would hang out if they wanted to pick up a few new Molnija marks. At least it wasn't raining here.

"There," Dimitri said suddenly, pointing to the store positioned at the end of the alley, just past some fire stairs that looked far too rusty to be trusted in an emergency.

"This is the oh-so-specialist store that promises to accommodate our every need?" I asked sceptically.

Dimitri nodded. "It's a small business, so they're more likely to cater to individual orders than a chain store would. They need custom, and providing specialist services allows them to attract niche clientele."

I turned to him with raised eyebrows. "Good to know that someone paid attention in business 101..."

He shrugged. "I worked through my summers to support the family. Baia's not exactly known for its big brands."

Huh. This had never come up before. "God, I hope your wages were better than the ones Lissa and I got paid at the student cafe in Portland. It was barely enough to cover the necessities like milk and pop-tarts for the two of us."

"You worked when you were on the run?"

"Yeah, Lissa's inheritance only went so far. See, I told you there was a valid reason for not joining sports teams- and before you say anything, yes, we worked the same shifts, so I was always there to protect her with that pointy thing you stab receipts onto. Kitchen utensils may have been better," I mused, "but they never let me near the food. I just wiped down tables and buffed windows."

"You must have loved that," Dimitri chuckled.

"Don't. I'm certain they would have fired me ten times over if not for Lissa's mild compulsion on the manager." I frowned, remembering something. "Actually, we never got our last paycheck from that place on account of the whole kidnap thing! Bet the slimy bastard had a right old laugh at that."

"Are you ever going to stop referring to it as 'kidnap?'"

"Um, no, because that's what it was."

"There was nothing unlawful about it, and therefore it does not constitute a kidnap."

I shot him my very best glare. "Guess I missed the seminar where they gave out those helpful definitions."

"You were probably too busy being a fugitive."

Dimitri escaped getting my elbow in the ribs by stepping forward to open the Jeweller's heavy oak door. A bell jingled overhead, almost like it was laughing at me. It really didn't serve much of a purpose, as the young teenage boy sitting behind the counter didn't even look up at the sound.

Despite my mild irritation, I took Dimitri's hand as we headed towards the desk. If we looked cute enough, then we might be able to snag a discount. At least, that's what I hoped. My usual shoulders-back-boobs-out method seemed inappropriate when shopping for wedding rings, not to mention the 14-year-old.

"Hey," I greeted the kid behind the counter. "We have an appointment with Mr. Cole..?"

His eyes flicked up to mine for all of two nanoseconds before his head dipped again and he looked down again, clearly engrossed in the comic book resting open on the glass counter.

"Sure," he mumbled. "Dad! Customer!"

There was a muffled shout from behind the back wall as 'dad' stopped whatever he was doing and came to meet us. The kid huffed in irritation as he closed his comic and slunk off to a chair in the corner of the room. I rolled my eyes. Sure, it sucked to be working in here through his summer vacation, but there were worse places to be than an air-conditioned store where nobody cared if you nerded your days away using comics as a shield against human interaction.

I was about to point this out when a surprisingly burly looking man came around the corner, wiping his hands on a grease-stained piece of cloth. He smiled when he saw us, gold tooth glinting in the dim light. Did he get a discount at the dentist by supplying them with cheap metal?

Gold-toothed Daddy Cole dropped the rag right on top of his son's comic, the disgruntled look on the kid's face making me unsure as to whether it was funny or mean, and took the final steps up to the glass counter.

"Hi there. How can I help you?"

"We're Rose and Dimitri," I said at the same time as Dimitri said, "We spoke on the phone," before we both finished, "we came to see about getting custom wedding rings?"

Mr Cole laughed heartily, extending a hand to each of us in turn. The rag hadn't quite managed to get all of the oily stuff off.

"Well, I can see why you two are getting hitched!" Mr Cole chuckled. "Yes, your custom rings. I've given some thought to your requirements, and your friend's suggestion of a tungsten carbide plated silver/titanium alloy should be viable. Not easy, mind you, but I've done a few mockups and they've gone fine. I don't think it's been sold commercially before- pure alchemy, that's what's happening in your friend's brain."

I bit my lip to stifle a grin at that. If only he knew. "Yeah, Sydney's all about the alchemy."

Forget turning lead into gold- making Adrian into an upstanding member of society was a feat that could not have been achieved by a lesser mortal.

Whilst I was amusing myself with the humour surrounding Sydney's recipe for an indestructible wedding band, Mr Cole was extracting a small ring from the front pocket of his apron, hardly big enough to fit on my pinky.

"This is the prototype I created. See?" He passed the ring to me to inspect.

It was a flawlessly shiny band that was slightly darker than the usual silvery colour, more like a storm cloud grey. I passed it to Dimitri next.

"Now," Cole explained, "that ring will never scratch or dent. 50 years from now, it'll still look like it does today. The thin bands of silver/titanium alloy running through it will prevent it from shattering as easily as some tungsten rings do, so you can run around punching walls made of diamonds if you so wish. However, in the event of an emergency it can still be removed by shattering the tungsten in a medical vice and then simply slipping off or even cutting away the thinner bands within it. If you ever wished to have the ring resized, you could remove the tungsten layer and replace it with a new one, but still keep the silver/titanium components, so it wouldn't be like getting a whole new ring. Unless you're not sentimental," he added, "then you could just get new ones entirely, of course."

Dimitri handed the ring back after inspecting it much more closely than I had. I wasn't sure what he was looking for, but it seemed he had found it.

"And you are able to produce a ring with rounded edges?" he clarified.

"Of course. Comfort-fit comes as standard with all my tungsten rings."

"They can still be engraved, right?" I asked.

"Yup. I have access to a laser engraving machine that will produce a result the same as would be seen on any other metal."

I looked at Dimitri and shrugged. "Anything we've missed?"

"That seems like everything to me."

Mr Cole smiled again, this time showing off a second gold tooth. "Excellent. I'll take your measurements now to make sure the rings are the right size, then you can write down that you want engraved on them. Ladies first..."

I held out my left hand so that my fourth finger was easily accessible.

"That's a beautiful engagement ring there," Cole said. "The clarity of the stone is outstanding. "

I turned to grin at Dimitri. Small but perfect; like the gestures that had first made me fall in love with him in the first place.

"Yup. Dimitri has good taste in diamonds as well as women."

Cole smirked widely. "Two most important things in the world, in my book." There was a long-suffering sigh from the corner, and Mr Cole's son actually tore his gaze away from his comic for long enough to roll his eyes at his dad's sentiment. "Will you be continuing to wear your engagement ring once you are married? given your specific requirements, I'd assume not..."

"Not on a day-to-day basis," I confirmed. "I've been careful with it so far, but once I've got the indestructible, permanent version, I'll stop wearing this to work."

Cole nodded sagely before moving on to measure Dimitri's finger. He didn't ask about our line of work- either Dimitri had given him the standard 'private security' answer that Guardians tended to give to humans, or he knew better than to pry into the lives of people who required wedding bands a superhero would be proud of.

Since there was nothing better to do, I looked around the room to take in the finer details that I had missed on my initial sweep. On the right wall, there was a collection of maybe a dozen cuckoo clocks that were all showing a slightly different time. The chirpy hour-induced chiming hell would last approximately 15 minutes if each of the clocks actually functioned properly, and I found myself re-evaluating the luck of the kid who was stuck working here. One cuckoo clock could drive someone to distraction; 12 would render you completely insane.

Looking down at the glass cabinet that served as a desk, I noticed a Disney collection that had some little bracelets that even I had to admit were adorable.

There. Right in the middle of the display was a dainty chain charm bracelet, where every few centimetres a dark pink rose took the place of a metal link. Hanging from it was a small heart charm, engraved with the words 'happily ever after' in a cursive script.

I may have hated rose stuff growing up, but I could think of one little girl who would adore this.

Once Mr Cole had finished with Dimitri's measurements, I pointed out the bracelet to him.

"Can I look at this please?" He obliged, placing it into my outstretched hands. I moved it so that Dimitri could see. "For Zoya," I explained. "So she has something to keep from when she was our flower girl."

The soft smile Dimitri gave me in return made me think that I should be thoughtful like this more often.

"That's very sweet Roza," he said quietly. "She'd love that."

Mr Cole was watching our exchange with a similarly gentle expression that was at odds with his otherwise tough exterior.

"I could engrave that too, if you like. There's room for a short message on the back of the heart charm."

I nodded, and after a moment's discussion with Dimitri, wrote the message down on the sheet of paper Cole pushed across the counter.

For Z, from R & D x, and then the date of the wedding underneath that.

Then, Dimitri and I moved a few steps apart to each write the inscriptions that would go on each other's ring. The surprise engraving on my engagement ring had been such a sweet idea of his that I'd suggested we do something similar on the wedding bands.

I'd previously been set on what I was going to get inscribed, but now that I was about to commit, it didn't seem right. I toyed with my alternative idea for a minute, wanting to write it down but not wanting to regret it later. Should I take the risk, or not?

Obviously, I ended up thinking up something entirely different in the moment of panic when Dimitri passed his paper back to Mr Cole, and I carefully jotted that down before I could change my mind again. Then I double, then triple-checked the spelling, because that seemed like the kind of thing that would happen to me. I could see it now- does anyone have just reason as to why these two should not be wed? - Yes! Shouts Paul, the ring bearer, because Roza is too stupid to marry Dimka!

Nope. Not going to happen. I checked it again- definitely fine. There would be no grammar-induced cold feet, at least. I handed the paper back to the jeweller.

"Excellent," he said. "Now, if I could have half the payment today, and the rest upon collection..."

Dimitri dealt with the payment purely because he had his wallet in his back pocket, and I hadn't bothered bringing my credit cards with me to the Tournament. I had enough cash for food, so that was all that really mattered. Despite this, we were still essentially buying each others' rings.

That was one thing that I was immensely glad not to have to deal with before the wedding- finance.

When Lissa and Christian had got married, they'd undergone the slightly awkward process of navigating monetary issues. Since neither of them had jobs with simple, steady incomes, both relied on their direct inheritance from their parents, the money made from investments made by both the whole Royal family and their own close relatives, and the money that was now 'paid' to them (read: Lissa) as the ruling monarch(s) that came from the Crown Estate. They may have had financial education as part of being Royal, but come on, there's only so much that can be expected of newlywed teenage monarchs trying to run a society as well as manage their money.

It was much simpler for me and Dimitri. I'd originally had a savings account where my meagre earnings and the yearly allowance my mom gave me had rested until I actually got at job. Then, my wages from Guarding Lissa had gone in there, as well as the money from Abe's trust fund when I'd finally been told about it. Dimitri obviously had his own money, saved over approximately 7 years of working as a Guardian.

When we decided that it was better for him to give up his apartment in favour of a wage increase and just share my oversized palace quarters instead, he'd offered to use that extra income for the utilities that weren't covered in my contract. When it became apparent that this wouldn't quite cover the new furniture and copious amount of food we went through, we'd just ended up redirecting both our (newly inflated) wages into a new joined account. Problem solved. Since we really didn't spend that much, food aside, the value of our joined account was rising nicely, and we always had our personal accounts to fall back on in the event of an apocalyptic relationship crisis until our accountants could sort out what belonged to whom. Otherwise, they were useful for making safe investments (not the ones Abe suggested) and buying Christmas presents.

Thinking about it, maybe the ease with which we dealt with finance was due to the fact that unlike Lissa and Christian, Dimitri and I had never had enough money to buy luxuries, so even now, choosing the simplest and most economical path just seemed natural. Almost every penny that came out of our account could be connected to one necessity or another, or something more extravagant that benefitted both of us directly, like a new TV or stuff for the wedding.

Lissa deciding to buy new season Louboutins in two colours at once, or Christian purchasing a retro Ms Pacman machine online... not so much.

Still, with the babies on the way, they were making more of an effort to sort things out. They had regular meetings with accountants and financial advisers to see about setting up trust funds and buying bonds for the kids, making sure they had money in their own name so that it could be accessed before they were eighteen if the worst were to happen, as Lissa's parents had done so well and Christian's parents had failed to do at all.

I was pulled out of my boring and scarily responsible-adult-like musings when the jeweller stuck his hand out for me to shake. I took it, trying not to grimace at the dark grease that still lingered there.

Gold teeth flashed he smiled again one last time. "These will be ready to pick up in 10 days. Is that alright with you?"

"Of course. Thank you for understanding our time constraint," Dimitri said graciously.

"Yep, you're a lifesaver," I added. If Dimitri was happy to drive out all this way the day before we set of for Russia, then it didn't bother me. I'd stay at home doing some last-minute packing or something.

"Hey, I've been married three times. I know how hectic these things can be. The wedding is more stressful than the divorce!"

I heard a grunt of disapproval from Comic Kid over in the corner, accompanied by an impressive eye roll. I took that as our cue to leave, but still waved to the kid as we left. At least he didn't roll his eyes at that. Actually, he didn't react at all. Rude.

We arrived back at the coach park with enough time to buy hot drinks and snacks. After three days of ration pack meals, the donuts I ate tasted even more heavenly than normal. I also made my way through two slices of pizza and half a bag of popcorn before fatigue became a greater problem than sugar withdrawal symptoms.

Noticing this, Dimitri gently took the bag from me and folded the top before placing it in the mesh pocket of the seat in front.

"It might be worth getting some sleep now," he said, "because as soon as Lissa gets wind of our victory, she's going to want a full run-down of absolutely everything that happened."

My happiness at the prospect of seeing Lissa again in just a couple of hours was only slightly tainted by the dread of the interrogation that would follow the reunion. Being away from her for this long had never been easy, but after the bond was severed, it became so much worse. Though I'd adjusted to life without that 6th sense, at times like these, I still missed the familiar and comforting connection, if not the downsides of being shadowkissed.

"Alright," I conceded, since Eddie was already snoring on the other side of the aisle, "but wake me up before we get there. I want time to mentally prepare for the inquisition before we're bombarded."

"Of course." He leaned close and kissed my temple before shifting to make room for me against his body. I allowed my body to slump sideways so my head rested between his shoulder and his neck, and his arm snaked behind me to hold me steady.

Our clothes were completely dry now, and I snuggled willingly into his warmth before sleep welcomed me like a long-lost friend.

So... explanation time.

I couldn't write. Not just in a writer's block kind of way, but in a feeling-so-dead-inside-there-are-no-words-left kind of way. I tried to write, but ended up making the bus go over a cliff and having everyone die. So I deleted that, and then started feeling nauseous and panicky every time I even thought about writing. I'd been feeling like my last few chapters hadn't been that great, and then when I literally couldn't produce anything at all, it just intensified all the feelings that I'd lost myself and wasn't good enough. When I'm upset or unhappy, writing is usually how I deal with that. But cut off from my cure, I just felt lost. All that on top of the fact I didn't actually have much time to write and I was perpetually exhausted from studying... this story suffered for it.

But I feel better now. For the last month or so, I've had the feeling of waking up from a long, lucid-dreaming sleep. It's not a particularly pleasant feeling sometimes, but that's a form of depression I can work with and channel into words.

God, writing that down just made me realise how bad it sounds. Dr Olendzki and Deirdre would have a field day with my mind... I'm better now though, so it's all good.

So I'm sorry for the really long wait and this really long author's note, but I wanted you to know that I hadn't forgotten about you guys. I really do appreciate the hell out of every one of you that takes the time to read my work, and cares about these stories. There's a part of me in all my writing, and you've been listening to what I have to say through the best and worst of times. I'll stop rambling now :)

Next chapter will probably feature the bachelor/ette parties, unless I'm struck by some other creative genius before then. Considering Rose hasn't had a night out in a while, it could get interesting! I will also endeavour to make the next chapter longer.

Review and Dimitri will take you to a jeweller's ;)