I understand some people are already not happy with how things are happening, but I urge you to keep reading. I did say at the beginning how it would be a love triangle between my character and Rose. Not quite sure how it's going to happen yet, but I have a solution for those of you who had trouble liking the last couple of chapters. Bear with me and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.

Sending all of us to classes as soon as we got back is exactly what Kirova did after our meeting which put me in a really sour mood. Rose and I watched on as Lissa got taken away but reaching into the bond we could tell she was OK.

Rose and I got out schedules completely forgetting about how the Academy separates the Moroi and novices which means we wouldn't see Lissa until lunch. At least we were together that was the main thing.

Dimitri and Alberta escorted us to the guardians' gym for first period, neither one of them acknowledging our existence but I certainly didn't have a problem with that. As we arrived everyone's eyes turned to us and I wasn't much of a socialite but Rose was better at that that I which everyone knew.

She caught the eyes of a familiar redhead and grinned.

"Hey Mason, wipe the drool of your face. If you're going to think about me naked, do it on your own time."

I rolled my eyes and a few snorts and snickers broke the silence that had emitted in the gym.

"This is my time Hathaway. I'm leading today's session." Mason grinned.

"Oh yeah?" Rose retorted. "Huh, well I guess this is a good time to think about me naked, then."

"It's always a good time to think about you naked." Someone who may have been classed as my only best friend spoke up.

"Nice. That's my sister." I grimaced at Eddie Castile.

His boyish grin playing out on his face, his playful green eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Sorry Lil. You know I can't help myself."

I hummed in reply and rolled my eyes and Dimitri shook his head, walking off and muttering something in Russian.

And just like that we were novices again. It's like we never left.

I was glad people remembered how I was and engulfed Rose in the gossip instead of me. I knew she wouldn't say anything but she would definitely tease them with ideas. Instead I laughed and chatted to Eddie, I told him about a few things that happened while we were away, making sure to let him know that I still kept up an aspect of my training, so there was no way he could beat me still and he laughed along with me.

"Hey hermit!"

I sighed and turned around facing the one person I hoped I wouldn't see for at least a few days.

"Isaac."

Isaac Kraemer was a beautiful blonde Moroi who broke my heart just after my seventeenth birthday. Before he broke up with me I was much like Rose, slightly popular, social and living the party lifestyle. Occasionally I still do, but I found myself not really wanting to be near people, which is how I got the nickname hermit, because nobody rarely saw me. Which is why I also turned sour and had a hard exterior on the outside. After all, your first love is always the hardest, granted I was young, I still am, but I felt everything for him and we even lost our virginity together. Although, somehow it turned him into the dick he was today.

"You still got what it takes to beat me?" A cocky grin plastered on his face and I narrowed my eyes at him and shrugged.

"As if you could ever beat me, Kraemer."

Isaac held his arms out.

"Let's see what you got hermit."

I brought my hands in a defence mode, fully aware that Isaac would take the offence.

He went straight for the face with his right hand and I blocked him using my left hand forcing it onto his forearm, grabbing it and twisting it underneath causing pressure. Shifting his weight onto my shoulder flinging him over onto his back.

He let out a low huff as he landed roughly on the mat and as quick as a flash I was on top of him with a makeshift stake pretending to pierce his heart.

"You're dead." I puffed, slightly out of breath.

Isaac let out a breathy laugh and his green eyes sparkled with mischievousness.

He placed his hands on my thighs and gave me a once over.

"I see you still have a thing for being on top."

I huffed in annoyance, smacking his chest as I got up.

"Ow" He laughed again, smirking at me as he walked away, back over to his friends.

"I'll be seeing you hermit."

I glared at him and I could feel Eddie glaring at him too.

"I don't know why you let him treat you like that. I know you can kick his ass." He said turning to me.

"You know why." I sighed.

"You weren't kidding when you said you'd still been training. Those were some serious moves. Maybe you'll be able to catch up with me after all." Eddie laughed and I smacked his arm playfully.

"Very funny. They're making Rose and I take extra practise sessions anyway." Not that it mattered.

"Extra sessions with who?"

"The dark Russian. Dimitri."

Eddie seemed shocked for a second.

"You're putting extra time with Belikov?"

I nodded confused. "Yeah. Why?"

"That man is a God."

"Exaggerate much? You got a bit of a crush there Eddie?" I grinned.

"Shut up." He nudged me jokingly and I waved goodbye and Rose grabbed me to head to second period.

…..

I winced as our next class was with instructor Stan Alto, also known as asshole by me. He didn't like me but he definitely hated Rose. I felt bad for her because as soon as he saw her he eyes widened in shock in mock surprise and came to stand by our desks.

"What's this? No one told me we had guest speakers here today Rose and Lily - Rose Hathaway. What a privilege! How very generous of you to take the time out of your busy schedule and share your knowledge with us!"

I sighed leaning my hand against my cheek whereas I felt Rose's embarrassment through the bond.

I almost wished she'd told him to fuck off and I knew she was dying to.

He gestured for us to stand up.

"Well, come on, come on. Don't sit there! Come up to the front so you can help me lecture the class."

I raised my eyebrows.

"I don't think so."

Rose sank into her seat.

"You don't really mean-"

"I mean exactly what I say, Hathaway. Go to the front of the class." His mean eyes turned to me and pursed my lips shaking my head.

There was a thick, tense silence that enveloped the room. In all fairness, Stan was a scary instructor. I held it well with refusing to do the things he wanted me to do, whereas Rose felt it necessary to prove him wrong which is why she decided to get up in front of the class.

I winced and shrunk back in my chair, hand above my eyes, cringing already.

Rose strode up to the front of the class, giving our classmates a bold look before throwing her dark hair over her shoulders. I noticed her stop and glance to the back of the room and I followed her line of sight. Noticing a bunch of guardians at the back of the room, including Dimitri. Turning back to her, I remembered how during the day as well as teaching us novices they were also on guardian duty, protecting their Moroi.

"So, Hathaway," said Stan cheerfully, strolling back up to the front alongside Rose. "Enlighten us about you and your sister's protective techniques."

I cringed noticing Rose's look of a deer caught in headlights.

"Our...techniques?"

"Of course. Because presumably you must have had some sort of plan the rest of us couldn't understand when you took an underage Moroi royal out of the Academy and exposed her to constant Strigoi attacks."

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat watching my sister carefully.

"We never ran into any Strigoi." She replied stiffly.

"Obviously." Stan snickered. "I already figured that out, seeing as you're all still alive."

Rose didn't say anything and Stan started pacing in front of the class, every now and then catching my eye.

"So what'd you do? How'd you make sure she'd stay safe? Did you avoid going out at night?"

"Sometimes." Which was true, especially when we first ran away, we started to relax a little after a few months without any Strigoi attacks, although we were always wary of them.

"Sometimes." He repeated sarcastically. "Well then, I suppose you slept during the day and stayed on guard at night."

"Er...no"

"No? But that's one of the first things mentioned in the chapter on solo guarding. Oh wait, neither of you would no that because you weren't here." He chose the point of neither to glare in my direction.

"I watched the area whenever we went out and Lily would scour the perimeter." I could practically feel the waves of anger coming off Rose.

"Oh? Well that's something. Did you use Carnegie's Quadrant Surveillance Method or the Rotational Survey?"

Rose didn't say anything and neither did I.

"Ah, I'm guessing you used the Hathaway sisters specialist technique, Glance-Around-When-You-Remember-To Method."

I glared at his form.

"No!" Rose exclaimed angrily. "That's not true. We watched her. She's still alive isn't she?"

Stan walked back up to Rose and leaned in uncomfortably close.

"Because you got lucky."

Rose's eyebrows narrowed.

"Strigoi aren't lurking around every corner out there. It's not like what we've been taught. It's safer than you guys make it sound."

"Safer? Safer? We are at war with the Strigoi!" He yelled. "One of them could walk right up to you and snap your pretty little neck before you even noticed him- and he'd barley break a sweat doing it. You might have more speed and strength than a Moroi or a human."

He pointed towards me.

"Two of you would make a bit of difference but you are nothing, nothing, compared to a Strigoi. They are deadly, and they are powerful. And do you know what makes them more powerful?"

I could see the tears forming in Rose's eyes but saw her hold them in and I felt myself become angered by his rudeness.

"Hey!"

Stan clapped his hands and laughed.

"She speaks!"

I glared at him.

"Moroi blood." Rose whispered, you could barley hear her.

"What was that?" Stan asked loudly. "I didn't catch it."

"Moroi blood! Moroi blood makes them stronger" Rose scowled at him.

He nodded in satisfaction.

"Yes. It does. It makes them stronger and harder to destroy. They'll kill and drink from a human or dhampir, but they want Moroi blood more than anything else. They seek it. They've turned to the dark side to gain immortality. Desperate Strigoi have attacked Moroi in public. Groups of Strigoi have raided academies exactly like this one. There are Strigoi who have lived for thousands of years and fed off generations of Moroi. They're almost impossible to kill. And that is why Moroi numbers are dropping. They aren't strong enough, even with enough guardians to protect themselves. Some Moroi don't even see the point of running anymore and are simply turning Strigoi by choice. And as the Moroi disappear…"

"So do the dhampirs." Rose finished.

"Well, it looks like you learned something after all. The pair of you. Now we'll have to see if you can learn enough to pass this class and qualify for your field experience next semester."

Rose didn't reply and sat down next to me in her desk.

Stan's last word replayed in my head. The last year of a novice's senior year were the best because we had no classes for half a semester. Instead, we'd each be assigned a Moroi student to guard and follow around. The adult guardians would monitor us and test us with staged attacks and other threats. How a novice passed the field experience was almost as important as all the rest of their grades combined. It could influence which Moroi they got assigned after graduation. There was only one Moroi I wanted. Because Lissa was a royal and the last no doubt, they are more than likely to assign her more than one, which leaves Rose and I as the clear choices. However, for the assignment I was satisfied with either one of us guarding her, as long as it was, either one of us.

….

Two classes later, we finally earned the freedom of lunch. I told Rose I would meet her there and as I began my trip across campus a silhouette loomed over mine.

"Can I help you?" I refused to stop walking just because he had wanted to speak to me.

"I spoke to your sister, about what happened in guardian Alto's class." Dimitri's accented voice spoke.

"And?" I huffed uninterested.

"And, was he right? Do you truly think you were fully prepared to protect Vasilissa?"

At this I stopped in my tracks and turned to him and raised my eyebrows challengingly.

"We kept her alive."

"I watched you and Rose fight your classmates today."

I scoffed and started my travels to campus.

"You did well for someone who's been out of the Academy for as long as you have, your sister on the other hand-"

I stopped again and glared at him.

"Look, we did fine on our own. We'll be able to protect her." I snapped.

Dimitri shook his head.

" You really think they're going to let both of you become Vasilissa's guardians?"

I furrowed my eyebrows at him.

"Why would that be an issue?"

He raised his.

"You think if you ever got into a Strigoi attack your first thought wouldn't go to Rose?"

Words escaped me at that moment and I had to think.

"No…" I hesitated. "No. I know Rose can take care of herself."

"I'll say the same thing I said to Rose. You have no guarantee of being assigned to her. No one wants to waste the bond but no one's going to give her an inadequate guardian either. If you want to be with her, then you need to work for it. You and Rose are an ideal choice to guard Vasilissa when you graduate. Only if you can both prove you're worthy."

I didn't say anything, only narrowed my brown eyes at his retreating form.

….

I exhaled happily as I saw the cafeteria but groaned inwardly as not only did I feel Lissa's anxiety spike, I felt Rose's annoyance, which I assumed was due to the blonde girl who clung to Aaron, Lissa's ex's, side.

I only heard the end of the conversation before I stood behind her with my arms crossed and Rose grabbed the small blonde by the shoulder, jerking her away from Lissa. She was so small and light she nearly toppled over.

"She does have standards." Rose said. " Which is why you're done talking to her."