Surprise- I'm alive. Anyone still around? Bet you didn't think you'd be seeing an update to this story after three years, but here it is. Sorry for leaving you hanging like that, but I promised I'd finish this story, and I will, even if it takes another three years. Better late than never lmao.

Disclaimer: Still don't own anything.

A week had passed since returning from the Tournament, but I could have sworn that my ears were still ringing from Lissa's billion-decibel explosion of sheer joy at our team's success. There may have also been a few cracked ribs involved- I'd even noticed Dimitri rubbing his chest after its collision with a perfectly coiffed blonde head. Anything that could do damage through that much muscle was truly a force of nature.

Right now, I was enjoying my last couple of minutes with Dimitri before our friends came to pick us up for our respective parties and we were separated until tomorrow. We were sitting on the couch, waiting for the girls to come get me. We would be getting ready in Mia's apartment, and the guys would come and meet Dimitri here. I wasn't sure what they had planned, and neither was Dimitri. That thought affected him more than me. I would roll with whatever they had planned, but I was pretty sure Dimitri would object to most of the guys' ideas of a good bachelor party. Our views on liquor-fuelled debauchery were quite different.

It was exactly a week before the wedding, and we would be flying out to Russia in three days. Lissa and Christian would be coming then, since they were Maid of Honour and Best Man, and everyone else would fly in the day before the wedding. Because of that, and the fact we had work the next three days, this really was the last time we would all be together to have fun before Dimitri and I were married. It didn't make much difference to me, but I guess it did for the sake of the bachelorette. It was also probably the last bit of alone time Dimitri and I would have before the honeymoon. We were, naturally, making the most of it. But of course, just as things were getting interesting, there was a pounding at the door.

"You better be decent!" Adrian called, "or you'll be collecting forfeits before we even hit the bar!"

Echoing Dimitri's eye roll, I got up to open the door to our not-quite-sober friend. But rather that being greeted by Adrian's green eyes as I glared, I was immediately swept up into a much more muscled pair of arms.

"We have your woman, Dimitri!" Eddie called. "Come with us, and we'll release her into the custody of the other females!"

I struggled in his arms half-heartedly, but before I could make any real progress in escaping his grip, Dimitri had arrived next to Eddie.

"Done deal," he said. "Now let's get this over with."

Adrian stepped forward and restrained Dimitri's hands behind his back with a pair of pale pink fluffy handcuffs. The sight was so ridiculous that I couldn't even compose myself enough to say goodbye before Dimitri was led away by Adrian and Christian.

Eddie looked down at me. "Consider me your carriage, m'lady. I shall convey you to Mia's abode immediately."

Holding on with one arm, I smacked him upside the head. "Dork."

Eddie and I garnered a few strange looks from people that saw him carrying me through Court bridal-style, but I just smiled and waved. It was hardly the weirdest position I'd ever been spotted in. I could hear music and feminine laughter coming from the direction of Mia's apartment from down the hallway, and the long-dormant party animal in me raised its head. I could practically taste the booze already.

When Mia opened the door to her apartment, I saw that she'd decorated for the occasion. Pink banners were strewn around, along with hot pink balloons. There was a bottle of pink champagne on the table, surrounded by pink-stemmed glasses. Her outfit matched, glittering with sequins.

It was all very... pink.

"What's up with Tinkerbelle barfing on everything?" I asked.

Mia rolled her eyes. "It's a bachelorette party. It's supposed to be girly," she explained.

"…I'm gonna hate this, aren't I."

"No," she replied, practically growled. "You're gonna love it. Or at least pretend to."

A glance at the supporting ferocity on Lissa's face made me realise that pretending to like it was indeed a wise course of action.

It turned out to be okay, actually, despite my initial misgivings. The pink fizz probably helped. First, we did each other's hair and nails whilst watching a chick flick, before Lissa brought out a large brown paper bag and handed it to me.

"Before you open that, you need to know where we're going today." It was early Moroi afternoon, so almost sunrise outside. "We've got permission to leave Court with an escort of two Guardians. We're going into the nearest city, where we're going clubbing."

"Is that safe?" I asked.

"Totally. Very low Strigoi presence. This close to Court, there's too many Guardians around for them to bother."

"Then that sounds amazing. Now can I open the freaking bag?" I begged. Despite my pink-fuelled misgivings, I was terrible at waiting for surprises.

As soon as they gestured for me to open it, I tugged on the drawstring and pulled out the clothes.

What I saw could never be mistaken as anything other than the world's gaudiest cowgirl outfit, complete with hot pink 'bride to be' banner.

"Good God. There haven't been this many rhinestones in one place since Elvis died."

"I know, isn't it great?" Mia beamed, and I nodded along as though the rhinestone thing was a good thing. So long as there was no MJ sparkly glove hidden away in there, I could live with it for the one night. Hopefully, before too long, I'd be too drunk to care.

Once I was dressed (and looking utterly ridiculous), Sydney surprised us all by pulling a bottle out of her purse.

"I stole this from Adrian earlier," she gloated. "He won't notice it's gone, since he hardy drinks anymore. He probably won't look for it until Thanksgiving."

"Us evil creatures of the night really have corrupted you," I lamented. "You've become downright dastardly."

She only smirked and cracked the top of the bottle, pouring it into the waiting pink shot glasses. Mia watched with a look of uncertainty. "Feels strange to be drinking this early in the morning."

Sydney shrugged. "Still feels sort of like evening to me."

"And I couldn't care less which it is," I added with a hint of my old pride. "I'm no stranger to day drinking. Neither is Lissa."

She scowled. "Not that I'm drinking now, of course."

"Ah, shut up and enjoy your grape juice. You can have a glass of wine when you're out, the doctor said that would be fine."

Mia put a supportive hand on Lissa's shoulder. "I promise you can get absolutely wrecked at my bachelorette. Even if I never get married, we'll have one anyway. Always seemed like the best part of the whole wedding thing to me."

Of course it did- old Mia, before her fortuitous leap to popularity in mine and Lissa's absence, would never have been invited to any cool parties. Even during her brief time in the spotlight, she'd been too busy masterminding her continued rule to risk making a drunken fool of herself. Now, she had us a group of friends that loved her regardless of how silly she looked, even if she happened to throw up on our shoes.

As it was, I grabbed the tequila from between Sydney's loose fingers and poured a generous shot into the shot glass dangling around my neck. Mia and Sydney picked up their own shots, whilst Lissa continued to scowl at her juice.

"Cheers, ladies." I threw back the shot, alcohol burning in my chest. "Let's make tonight our bitch."

The restaurant that Lissa had picked out for us was perfect for what we needed. Getting up super-early meant that we were ready to eat our lunch, though the humans around us were eating their dinner. The huge size of the pizzas on offer suited me just fine. As soon as we'd ordered our food and drinks- boring old cheese and tomato for Mia and Lissa, Hawaiian for Sydney, and a meat feast for myself and Meredith, my three overzealous bridesmaids pulled hideously pink gift bags from their purses.

"Time to defile this classy restaurant," Lissa said with a wink, her grouncheyness gone now she had a glass of overpriced champagne in front of her.

"Good god. Surely it can't get much worse than it already is?" I choked, plucking at the tacky paper L-plates pinned to my plaid shirt.

"Tonight is a night of teenaged debauchery before you enter the realm of the boring oldies. We need to make the most of it," Mia said. I rolled my eyes. As if being married would make me boring. It would take a lot more than signing some paperwork to take the fun out of me- endless filing at Court hadn't managed it yet, despite Hans's best efforts.

Lissa sensed my reluctance and pushed her bag towards me more forcefully, knowing I could never say no to her. With a final grumble of protest, I pulled out a pack of eight drinking straws shaped like penises.

"You weren't kidding. So classy," I laughed.

"Only the best for you, Rose!"

Tearing open the bag with my teeth, I pulled out a bright blue straw and dropped it into my vodka cranberry. Lissa snapped a photo as I took a long, slow sip. Thank god social media sites were blocked at Court- I so didn't need pictures like these making their rounds of Guardian HQ. Meredith was clearly sharing similar thoughts- she handled the straw I passed to her like a stick of dynamite that might go off at any second.

The tacky novelty gifts kept coming, and by the time all the giftbags had been emptied, I had been adorned with a tiara, badges, another shot glass necklace, fluffy black wings and devil horns, and a another 'bride to be' sash which flashed neon. In addition to the cowgirl getup, I looked utterly ridiculous, and was close to toppling off my chair. Whether it was due to the additional weight or the increasing amount of alcohol in my system, I wasn't sure. Probably a bit of both.

By the time I was half way through my pizza, my toes were beginning to tingle. It had been a long time since I'd been even tipsy, and the feeling was unfamiliar enough to be strange. Still, I welcomed it like an old friend, remembering how this had been a weekly occurrence before Lissa and I had run away from the Academy.

The memory was clearly at the forefront of Lissa's mind too.

"Rose, you've got that look on your face that means the drink is getting to you."

I grinned widely. "You know Liss, you're right. I think it's time for a change though. Who fancies cocktails!"

Mia cheered whilst Sydney rolled her eyes. Lissa shook her head regretfully. "I think that I'd better head off once I've finished my dinner. I can't afford to the only sober girl at the table."

Meredith spoke then. "Don't worry, your- Lissa. I'm tee-total too. We'll stick together."

It still amazed me that her first reaction was to refer to Lissa by her official title rather than the name we'd all grown up using. The strength of Guardian duty was truly astounding. I could only hope that at the wedding, when she was off duty and attending purely as a friend, she would be able to loosen up a bit. She deserved a night off as much as anyone.

Thrusting my glass in her direction, I shot Meredith a sloppy grin. "You know, Merry, I'm really sorry for that time I whacked you when I was on the run. I realllly didn't want to hurt you"

Meredith's Guardian mask couldn't quite hide her smile. "I know, Rose. We were both just doing our jobs."

I widened my arms to include the whole table in my air embrace. "You know I love you all, right?"

Now Lissa's laugh was full-bodied. "I'd nearly forgotten how sentimental she gets when she's had a few drinks."

Mia giggled then, eyes peeking at me from above the cocktail menu. "In that case, do you think she's missing Dimitri? We could buy her a 'sticky white Russian' to ease the separation."

Vodka and cranberry juice sprayed out of Sydney's mouth as I snorted with laughter. "No way, is there really a cocktail called that?"

Mia nodded fervently. "Mhmmmm."

Lissa shook her head, smiling indulgently. "I'm sure she'll get enough of that on the honeymoon."

Even Meredith laughed at that joke, starting to ease out of her discomfort at her Queen making bawdy cracks.

The rest of dinner continued in much the same way, with one lewd comment after another. I didn't care that some of the other diners were giving us dirty looks. When it came time for us to leave for the next venue, and for Lissa and Meredith to go home, I grabbed my bff by the shoulders and pulled her into a crushing hug.

"I love you, Lissy," I crooned. "I'm sorry that the babies are keeping you at home, but they're gonna be soooo cute, and you're gonna be the best mom and I'm gonna be the best auntie ever."

Lissa patted my back gently. "I know, Rose. I'm excited too. Terrified, but excited."

I grinned. "If things get tough, there's always tequila!"

Lissa patted my cheek fondly. "Of course. Be careful, Rose. Don't go damaging my number-one babysitter before the babies even arrive."

"Psssh. Dimitri's going to be your best babysitter. I'll just be the fun one that leads the kids astray."

Lissa had begun walking back to the Court-issued ATV where the far-guard waited before I even finished my sentence, Meredith leading the way. I let her go, knowing that if I tried to convince her to stay, as I desperately wanted her to, then she probably would. Grasping the hands of my two remaining bachelorettes, I squeezed hard.

"Just you and me now girlies. Let's head to somewhere a little more lively." And where our jokes wouldn't be corrupting children dining with their parents.

Now approaching the human evening, the pubs and bars on the strip were beginning to fill. In the first place we went into, we did end up ordering those Russian cocktails, before making our way through the next three drinks on the list.

"Sydney!" I exclaimed when she nearly knocked over her mojito. "You're drunk!"

Sydney's eyes didn't focus properly on mine, but she answered as well as she could. "I know. I'm not sure if I like it."

Mia grabbed her arm. "That just mean you need to drink some more. Get some sambuca in you, and you won't care who you are, much less how you feel."

Sydney started to make some sound of protest but it was too late. I had already called the waiter over and ordered two rounds of shots. Seeing her grumpy face, I took hold of her wrist and gave her my best puppy dog eyes. "Come on, Syd. This is my special night with my favourite people."

Sydney glared, but the expression was softened by the curling of her lips. "You're diabolical."

I grinned. "Evil creature of the night, remember?" This sentence was punctuated by a hiccup.

"My human metalab- metabolism can't keep up with yours. Humans were never meant to compete with people like you."

The music was loud enough that I wasn't worried about anyone overhearing our conversation. "The humans that lived with the Keepers drank just as much moonshine as the Moroi, so that's a load of rubbish."

Mia smirked. "This seems an opportune moment to remind you about that other bloke you were engaged to for a minute."

"Joshua!" I snorted, hiccupping again. "What a mess that was."

"It made Dimitri jealous though," Syd pointed out. "Probably helped you get back together, in fact."

"Pffft. My own good looks and sparking sense of humour did that."

"And hotel sex!"

"Sydney!" Mia and I shouted, before bursting into giggles.

Syd shrugged, but a devious grin remained on her face. "You know it's true. I did the two of you a favour by letting you escape alone."

I just winked in reply. Sex didn't fix everything, but it had definitely helped.

After that, we hit two more bars on our impromptu crawl, buying several rounds in each. We were supposed to be heading back to Court, but the three of us soon lost our sense of time, direction, and, well, sense. The hot summer air did nothing to clear my head, and I felt warm all over.

We'd taken a turn down a tacky side street, lured by flashing neon lights and pounding bass. Men shouted and women laughed, and I felt myself getting caught up in the atmosphere of revelry. Normally, a place like this meant danger and being on my guard. But tonight, I was free.

So free, that when Mia pointed towards the black doors of a strip club, I nodded eagerly and pulled Sydney forward.

The bouncer didn't even bother to check our fake IDs on the way in, only taking our money and ushering us forward. At the end of a long corridor, the space opened up into one large room dominated by a glowing runway. Dancing upon it was a group of half-naked men.

"Wooo!" screeched Mia, sending Sydney into a fit of giggles.

"I've never seen so many men in their underwear before!" she hollered, barely audible over the beat of 'it's raining men'.

"I know, isn't it great!" I shouted back. It was nice to see her letting loose, though she'd probably kill me tomorrow when her hangover set in. "It's like Magic Mike in 3D."

We hit the bar, content to watch the stage from a distance since we were short on dollar bills to shove into the crotch of their costumes like all the other women near the front were doing. I didn't want to look cheap in front of all those sexy men.

Feeling sentimental, I grabbed Mia and Sydney by the shoulders and held them close, sloshing my drink over them in the process.

"Thanks for making tonight so awesome!" I screamed. "This is something off my bucket list. I just wish Lissa was here too."

Sydney rubbed my arm in a way that was probably meant to be comforting, but nearly pushed me off my seat. "She can join us next time. I can't wait to do this again!"

Mia nodded. "But whilst we're here, there's something I want to cross off my bucket list too." Casting a quick glance at the bartenders, and seeing they were busy, she began to climb onto the bar. "I want to dance!"

Sharing a quick glance, Sydney and I followed suit, laughing and wobbling all the way. By the time the bartenders noticed us, we were all standing on the bar, dancing along to the music.

"I'm getting married!" I hollered, and people below cheered. By now we had drawn quite a crowd, and Mia especially was loving the attention. Handing her phone to one of the girls standing below us, she demanded for photos to be taken, as she had been doing all night.

Turning to me, she wiped her brow, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Is it just me, or is it getting hot in here?"

Then, she peeled off her sweat-soaked shirt and started whipping it around her head. Her black balcony bra contrasted deeply against her pale skin, tops of her petite Moroi breasts on display to the whole club. Belatedly, I felt like I should have been shocked, but the feeling was distant. Mostly I was buzzed, and happy, and starting to get a little sleepy.

"Hey!" A bouncer ran up to us, pointing and shouting. "Get down from there and put your clothes on!"

Shrieking with laughter, Mia bowed to the applause of the people below us before leaping off the bar and down into the fray, grabbing her phone back from the girl that was cheering loudest. I backflipped off before helping Sydney down. The bouncer made a move towards us, so we ducked and ran for the exit.

Bursting out into the night air, which felt slightly cooler after the heat of the club, we were still cackling like hyenas.

"I can't believe you just did that!" I exclaimed, hiccupping.

"Me neither! Did I really just take my shirt off in a crowded bar?"

"In a stripclub!" Sydney added. "I don't think the strippers liked you stealing their thunder!"

We were still in fits of giggles as we stumbled down the road, Mia struggling to pull her shirt back over her head. I felt something vibrate in my back pocket, and realised it was my phone a few seconds later. I squinted to read the screen; everything was a little blurry.

"Dimitri's calling me," I told the others, "I should probably take this."

"Act sober!" Mia said, which set Sydney off again.

"Rose?" Dimitri asked. "Is everything okay?"

"Hey baaabe," I drawled. "Better now you're calling me."

I thought I heard him sign on the other end of the line. "I thought you'd be back at Court by now. Where are you?"

I shrugged before realising he couldn't see me. "I'm not sure. Kinda in the road? We just got kicked out of the strip club."

"Strip- oh, Rose. Do you need to be picked up?"

"Pfff. We're strong, independent women, Dimitri. We're badass. We're just gonna walk home."

"Rose, it's 20 miles." He had his tired instructor voice on, and it annoyed me.

"Twenty-shmenty. See you later!"

I ended the call and stuffed the phone into my back pocket, almost dropping it in the process.

"Classic Dimitri. Always worrying."

Mia tapped me on the shoulder. "We're not really walking, are we? Cuz I'm tired. And my feet hurt."

"Nah," I assured her. "I just said that to annoy him. We'll get a cab."

Nodding, Mia plopped down onto the sidewalk and proceeded to strip off her boots. Sydney did the same. I decided that the best way to figure out where we were was to gain altitude. A streetlamp seemed a good place to start.

Climbing it proved to be more difficult than I'd anticipated, as my hands and feet didn't want to do what I asked of them. Fingers fumbling, I kept slipping down every time I managed to get off the ground. The slippery rhinestones on my shirt weren't helping. Eventually I managed to climb up and perch on the curved top, but even then, I couldn't see as far as I had planned. I did see something of interest though.

"Look!" I shouted to the girls. "Traffic cones! You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Sydney, who was still standing, ran to where I was pointing and picked one up. She swayed under its weight for a moment before lifting it above her head.

"I'm a witch now! I have magic powers, and you must do whatever I say!"

Mia shot a sloppy jet of water from her fingers, knocking the cone-hat off Sydney's head.

"Beat that, witchy."

Pouting, Sydney repositioned her new headpiece. "Oh, I will." Then she kicked a loose piece of asphalt at Mia, who squealed and ducked out of the way.

"Play nice kids," I shouted down. "I don't want to have to detour to RE. I mean ER. Um, the hospital."

Sydney picked up another cone and offered it to Mia as a peace tribute. With both girls sporting headgear, I felt left out.

"Hey, throw one up to me!"

"Come get it yourself!" Mia yelled, curling up against Sydney's side and closing her eyes. Sydney was sobbing, mumbling about the unfair persecution of witches, and her cone-hat kept slipping over her eyes.

"I don't think I can." The situation was quite funny, really. I was stuck at the top of a streetlight because I felt far too wobbly to jump off. I might smush my face up before the wedding, and that would be a tragedy. I wanted to be pretty. Like a princess. Like Lissa. The thought of it made me start crying too.

"Fine, I'll throw it."

Mia hurled it upwards in an impressive display of strength considering she was Moroi. Her accuracy was a little off, though. I leaned out to grab one end of the spinning cone, but as I did so, light flared across my blurry vision, momentarily blinding me. I lost my balance and slipped off the lamp, only just managing to grip the horizontal pole in one hand as I caught the cone in the other.

"Got it," I mumbled, sniffling.

"We leave you alone for one night, and this is what happens!" came an incredulous voice from below.

Glancing down sheepishly, I saw Eddie and Dimitri getting out of the SUV that had just pulled up and distracted me.

"Hey Comrade," I slurred. "I knew you'd always rescue me."

With that, my fingers slipped from the metal bar, and I felt myself falling to the ground in slow motion.

Strong arms caught me before fatal impact could occur.

"God Rose," Dimitri sighed. "Just how drunk are you?"

I held up eight fingers. "About this drunk." Then I frowned. "Wait, you've been drinking too. How're you driving?"

He rolled his eyes. "I just got out of the passenger seat. Mikhail is driving."

"Ohhhhh. Hi Mikhail."

I realised then that I was swaying where I stood, and rather than trying to stand still, I let the momentum carry me closer to Dimitri. His arms tightened around me again, and though I knew he was probably a bit pissed off, he felt too good to ignore. Then I felt the fabric of his shirt getting damp and realised I was crying. I'd forgotten why, but I couldn't stop.

With another sigh, Dimitri hoisted me up into his arms and carried me towards the SUV. Eddie put an arm around Mia and Sydneys shoulders and steered them in the same direction.

"Try not to be sick in the car. Hans will not be impressed," Dimitri murmured.

My hand brushed my forehead in a messy salute as he dropped me on the backseat. "My iron stomach will not let me down."

I was vaguely aware of Sydney, still crying quietly, resting her head against my shoulder before my own eyes began to close.

I blacked out before the vehicle even began to move.

My writing style has changed quite a bit over the years, but hopefully I still managed to capture Rose's voice. I'm sure I'll get back into it if not.

Review and Dimitri will carry you home