Chapter 7

Rose went through the day in a happy haze. Things were finally starting to look up. That morning, after her talk with Dimitri, she had managed to knock Mason to the ground. In the morning they were leaving for a week long field trip, a training exercise in which they would be working on survival skills. That evening, there was a meeting about it, to go over the rules one final time.

"Do not leave the area. Do not wander off. Stay in groups of two minimum. Listen to the whistles." Dimitri droned on in his no nonsense voice. "I don't want to have to find anyone who gets lost. If I have to find you, I will send you home. No second chances. This is your only warning."

Ivan chimed in, "Now don't worry. The area has been scouted out and there have been no signs of Strigoi in the vicinity. You will all have a stake just in case though. Now, everyone go get some sleep, we will see you all at 5am to head out."

The novices all noisily headed off to their dorms for the night. Rose stuck around though, wanting to talk to Ivan, to thank him for his help. Ivan and Dimitri had started walking away, back to their offices. Rose hurried to catch up to them, when their voices drifted back to her.

"You shouldn't have said anything about Strigoi. You know as well as I do about the reports of activity not even 50 miles from there. There could easily be Strigoi hiding out near where we are going. They need to be on guard the entire time we are there. If it wasn't vital to their training and their ability to graduate, I would cancel this whole trip." Dimitri was saying in a harsh whisper.

Ivan shrugged his shoulders, "Well, we will deal with that if it happens. Besides, what was that ' no second chances' deal. You know you would never actually send anyone home unless they caused major issues. Hence why you have yet to send Hathaway home. Secretly he intrigues you, doesn't he?"

Dimitri scowled. "Stop reading into things. I finally talked with him this morning, and you'll be happy to know that I agreed to give him one on one training after the field trip. Things will be easier afterwards, and besides we need all the fighters we can get. I have to go finish the training plans. I'll see you in the morning."

He strode off and Rose caught up to Ivan.

"Hey Ivan, thanks for the advice this morning. Dimitri seems to finally be willing to give me a chance. Provided I don't get into trouble."

"No problem Jamie. So how much did you hear of the conversation?" He glared knowingly at Rose.

"Well… I heard most of it honestly. I wasn't trying to listen, I just wanted to talk to you!" She shuffled her feet in admittance. "I promise not to say anything to anyone."

"Jamie, you'd better not. I have a feeling that if some of the novices found out there were Strigoi nearby they would go looking for them themselves. We don't need that, got it?" Ivan was serious, so Rose knew it was important.

"Of course Ivan. I won't say anything."

"Good, now go to bed. We will be leaving before you know it." Ivan gave her a playful shove towards the dorms.

Rose walked back to her room, her mind in turmoil. Strigoi close to their training? Why would they take them out there right now? Why not just pick a different spot? She worried about their safety. Dimitri must know what he was doing though, and she trusted him explicitly.

Morning dawned faster than she would've liked, but she was excited at the same time. She travelled with her group and they had fun just enjoying the peace. Christian was especially expressive, for him anyway.

"So Jamie, tell me how you met the princess?"

"We grew up not far from each other, and my mom did some work for her parents. One time my babysitter was sick, so mom had to take me with her. We became best friends. Her parents sort of adopted me after a while and I'd go on trips with them. Andre would pick on me just as if we were really siblings. Lissa always told me that she'd take me to Court with her, but then her parents died and she couldn't face them."

"I saw her once when we were all younger. It was Christmas and all the royals had been invited to spend it at Court with the Queen. She was very nice to me. Of course, that was before my parents went crazy, so I'm sure she'd be just as cold as the others now." His face slumped into his normal scowl.

"Now you listen to me Christian Ozera. Lissa is the kindest, sweetest, most loving and forgiving person alive and you would be lucky to be her friend. Now I can introduce you or I can tell her to stay as far away from you as possible. It's up to you." Rose wagged her finger at him and glared.

"You know Hathaway, I can tell that your best friend is a girl. You act like one half the time. Are you sure you are a guy?" Christian taunted her.

"I can kick your butt from here to court if you push me Ozera." The two of them were back to their safe zone of making fun of each other. The conversation had been getting too heavy for either of them.

Eddie chimed in, "You know, you really are improving. If you keep working on it, I can see you becoming top of the class."

"Especially after the trip and he starts getting private lessons from Belikov." Adrian blurted out.

"Adrian! I told you not to tell anyone!" Rose huffed.

"You are getting lessons from Belikov? That man is a god. I'm so jealous." Mason whined. "Besides, you kicked my butt yesterday, you are pretty much caught up as is."

"There is always room for improvement Mas. If Belikov is finally taking a notice of our boy here, and not just to kick him out, then we should be happy." Eddie was always the voice of reason.

"Besides, I was going to teach you everything he taught me, but if you think you can beat him, then by all means, go for it." Rose got the last word. As usual.

Before they knew it, they had reached the forest where their training would take place.

The days passed by in a blur. Before Rose knew it, the trip was half over. That night she was assigned to guard duty. She was paired with Mason.

"Jamie, I need to tell you something." Mason seemed nervous about something as they walked the perimeter of the camp, keeping an eye out for any disturbances.

"You know you can tell me anything Mas. We are friends aren't we?" Rose was more than willing to listen. She missed her chats with Lissa, and it was nice to have a friend to talk to.

"Well, of course we are. But, I was wondering if perhaps, we could be more? I have to admit that I find you attractive. I didn't think I was gay, but then I met you. If you don't feel the same, I understand. I just wanted to let you know how I feel. I promise if you say no, I won't be weird around you." Mason's words just flowed out of him in a rush.

"Mason, you are a great friend, and any person, guy or girl, would be lucky to have you in their life. However I think at this time, we should just stay friends. We need to focus on training. I promise that when the time comes, we can chat about this again." Rose tried to gently let him down.

"I figured that's what you would say. Besides, it seems like you have a crush on someone else. I won't stand in Belikov's way."

"Mason, I…" Rose cut off and stared over Mason's shoulder. She'd seen something in the shadows. She strained her eyes, her body on full alert. There! Movement. She spoke to Mason again, without taking her eyes off the spot.

"Mason, run back to camp. Tell Dimitri that there is something coming. Hurry!"

"What do you mean?" Mason hadn't seen anything.

"JUST RUN!" Rose shouted, hoping to startle him into movement. It worked. He hurried off towards camp.

"Well, looks like I get a special price. A female dhampir, out here alone? What could you be doing?" Red eyes met her shocked brown ones as the figure stepped out from behind the tree.

"I'm here to kick your butt." Rose ground out from behind her clenched teeth. She was scared, but couldn't show it. She just hoped Dimitri would be here soon. Maybe she could hold the Strigoi off until then.

"It's interesting that your friend seems to think you are a boy. I can see what he sees, but your scent is undeniably female. Perhaps you should take that ring off, show me what I am really getting."

Rose was torn. Perhaps it would shock the Strigoi long enough to give her a chance. Then again, maybe it would get her killed. She decided to take a chance and pulled of her ring. Tucking it deep into her pocket, she glared at the Strigoi who looked pleased.

"My, you are stunning. Perhaps I should make you immortal, you would enjoy it pet." The Strigoi stalked closer, Rose could see more features coming into view on the pale face of the once Moroi in front of her.

"Tell me, did you chose to become a monster?" Rose spoke in a flippant tone, meant to taunt the Strigoi into action.

"No, but I will be forever grateful that I was turned. It is so much better. Yes, the magic is gone, but the power is greater than any magic. You should join me in eternal night." He moved closer and closer, and yes, there was an opening. Rose lunged. The Strigoi leapt to the side, but Rose managed to nick him. That just served to piss him off.

He started circling Rose and was about to grab her when Dimitri ran out of the trees and pushed her to the side. In the same step he spun and plunged his stake into the Strigoi's chest.

"Miss, are you alright?" Dimitri turned back to the girl he had pushed out of the way, concern evident on his face. His eyes widened in surprise. Warm melted chocolate eyes met his and a nudge of recognition pounded in his chest. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, her dark hair flowing around her shoulders, accenting her almond shaped eyes and lightly tanned skin. She was nodding, her full lips parted in the start of a word, when 3 novices burst onto the scene. Mason, Eddie and Christian looked around for any danger. Mason was frantic.

"Where's Jamie? He was right here! Did the Strigoi get him? Who are you?" He noticed Rose standing there. What was odd was that she had the same jacket on that Jamie had had.

"My name is Rose. I don't know who you are talking about." She hated lying to Mason, but she didn't want her secret to come out yet. She turned to Dimitri. "Thank you for your help. I must go now."

He grabbed her arm and started dragging her back to camp with him.

"Oh no. I cannot let you run off while there are Strigoi around. It is unsafe. You will stay with me until we can return you to your family." He was stern.

"I really shouldn't. I must get going. Besides, it sounds like you have a missing man. You should focus on finding him. I'll be ok. I promise." Rose pulled her arm out of his grip. With a smile she added. "Thank you again for saving me." She loped off into the trees, trying to put distance between her and Dimitri. However, Dimitri swiftly caught up to her.

"I told you, you are coming with me. Tomorrow I will escort you to your family. They must be worried sick about you. I'll send out one of my teams to look for Jamie. Chances are though he is already back at camp. My guess is the Strigoi caught sight of you and chased you instead of him." Dimitri stood with his arms crossed. "Now are you going to come with me, or will I have to carry you back to my camp?"

"Really, I will be fine. I'm not far from home, and I need to get back. You should go back to your camp and prepare for an attack. That Strigoi wasn't alone."

It was a shot in the dark, she didn't know if he was alone or not, but with recent developments chances where there were others nearby. He'd probably been a scout. It was a safe bet to prepare in case.

"Be that as it may, I would prefer if you would stay with me for the rest of the night. In the morning, you can go, but grant me this small favor, so that I don't have to worry about your safety." Dimitri was quite the gentleman when he wasn't trying to kick someone out of the guardians. She gave in, knowing that unless she did, he would follow her and the camp would be attacked.

When they got back to camp, he led her to the main tent. Ivan was lounging in front of the fire and leapt to his feet when Dimitri walked in.

"Dimitri, what happened? Mason said there were Strigoi?" He looked behind Dimitri as Rose entered. "Do I know you? You look familiar."

She shook her head, "No, I don't think you do."

"Ivan, Mason is correct. There was a Strigoi, attacking Rose here. I took care of it. The problem is Jamie is missing. Did he come back to camp?"

Ivan glanced at Rose, catching her slight nod. "No, I haven't seen him. Why don't you go look while I get our guest settled?" Dimitri looked to Rose and nodded.

"Stay with Ivan. He will take care of you. I'll be back soon." He swept out of the tent.

"Well Jamie, I assume this is how you really look? Or should I call you Rose? Are you going to tell me the truth, or should I guess?" Ivan pouted.

"Very funny Ivan. Yes, my real name is Rose. Mason and I were patrolling, I saw the Strigoi and I told him to get Dimitri. The Strigoi knew I was a girl from my scent, so I tried to distract him by removing the charm. It worked for a moment, but when I attacked, he reacted faster than I had hoped and I missed. That's when Dimitri showed up. He killed the Strigoi and now won't leave me alone. If I try to put on the ring now, he will send everyone out looking for Rose. He promised to let me go in the morning, so I'm hopeful that I can come back to camp in the afternoon with a tale of getting lost in the woods after chasing after a Strigoi." Rose paced back and forth, trying to figure a way out of the mess she'd gotten herself into.

"You know, you could always just tell Dimitri the truth." Ivan was quick to rejoin. If Dimitri wouldn't admit to an attraction to Rose because he thought Rose was a guy, maybe he'd be fine to admit to liking Rose herself.

Rose laughed. "I can't do that. He really would send me home! I have to be able to protect my family. My sister. She doesn't trust people easily and I want to be her guardian. Besides, I almost took down that Strigoi, a few lessons from Dimitri, and I'll have it in the bag."

"Perhaps." Ivan left it at that. The two sat in silence for a little while. Soon however they could hear arguing getting closer to the tent.

"But we have to go out there! We have to find Jamie. Ask that girl again. She's wearing his coat. She knows what happened to him, I know it." Mason's voice was full of panic and pleading.

"No Ashford. It's too dangerous. Jamie will have to find his own way back. We can go look in the morning for clues, but right now we have nothing to go on. No ideas where he might have gone." Dimitri retorted in a no nonsense tone.

"The girl knows something. Please let me speak to her. I need to find Jamie." Mason sounded so depressed. Rose thought perhaps it was time to tell him her secret. She stood up and walked out the tent.

"I met a guy in the woods, before the Strigoi attacked. He seemed to know that they were there. He handed me his jacket and told me to stay hidden. Then he ran off into the woods. Another Strigoi found me and that's when Mr. Belikov here saved me." She glanced at the group. Adrian was smirking at her while Mason, Eddie and Christian looked thunderous.

"See! He's out there. We have to find him. Please, let us go look." Mason looked hopeful.

"No. Now go back to your tents. We will discuss our options in the morning." Dimitri glared at Mason.

Eddie and Christian each grabbed an arm and dragged Mason away. Adrian lingered and, glancing between Rose and Dimitri, smirked.

"My cousin, the hero. Always having to rescue damsels in distress. Tell me beautiful, are you ok?" He bowed to Rose, playing the part of an enamored aristocrat.

"My good sir, I'm fine. Your cousin saved me before any harm came to me." Rose was trying not to laugh at the look of incredulity on Dimitri's face.

"You two know each other, don't you?" He said, slightly crestfallen. He'd like to get to know this dark eyed beauty better, but if she knew his cousin then his chances were slim.

"We've met a couple times over the years. My sister and Adrian run in the same circles." Rose told a small lie. She'd seen Adrian of course, but never actually talked to him and Lissa was a sister, though not blood related.

"I see." Dimitri rounded suddenly. "I'll leave you two to catch up." He stormed away. Adrian tried hard to hold in his laugh but failed.

"My cousin is jealous! How wonderful. It seems you have caught his eye Rose. But onto the important thing. Are you going to tell him the truth now?" He turned his jade eyes on her, making her squirm in her seat.

"No, of course not. I do need to tell Mason though. Perhaps you could 'escort' me there, so Dimitri won't be upset?" She was trying not to panic.

"Probably a good idea." Adrian agreed.

They swiftly went to their assigned group spot.

"I'll grab Christian. Can you get Eddie and Mason?" Rose asked Adrian as they approached. He nodded in agreement and they both entered different tents.

"Hey Pyro, come out here will you? I need to talk to you." Rose used her Jamie voice to call into the tent.

"Hathaway! You're back. It's about time. I told Mason not to worry…" Christian's voice cut off as he caught sight of Rose. "You're not Jamie. What's going on?"

"I'll tell you in a moment. We just need Eddie and Mason first." She turned to their tent, wondering what was taking so long.

Adrian came back out, his face ashen. He was holding a sheet of paper.

Christian and Adrian,

I'm sorry we didn't tell you we were leaving, but you two are needed here. We went to find Jamie. Try to keep Belikov occupied. We should be back by sunrise.

Eddie and Mason

PS if Jamie beats us back, hog tie him for us!

Rose blanched. Eddie and Mason were gone.

AN: I'm back! Sorry for the delay, it's been a crazy month and honestly, writing was the last thing on my mind. I have the next chapter almost written, so updates should be faster. Thank you all so much for sticking with me on this journey!
Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy or the characters :( But I get to play with them all I want!