Hi!!! I'm sooooo happy because I ran my first Cross Country race today. (Even though I came in 56th place.) :) Anyways, here's a chapter because I felt so great afterwards. You probably don't care about this, so go ahead and read. R&R plz!!!

Disclaimer: I AM NOT RICHELLE MEAD. (Sadly) :(. I don't own anything!

DPOV

Kirova sent the two girls straight to class right after her little talk. I waited with Alberta outside the door as they obtained their schedules for this semester. I spent that time thinking about my rash actions. It was foolish and completely unlike me to rush into that situation back in Kirova's office, but I strangely didn't regret them. As impolite as Rose was, I truly did believe that she had a potential to be a good guardian. From what I read from her profile, she was top in her class. But that was before she left. Still, she may have that potential still.

I tried to ignore the part of my brain that told me that I was lying to myself, that I wanted her to stay for my own selfish reasons. As I struggled with my inner conscience, the door opened.

Rose came out, looking a little disgruntled as she stared at her schedule, looking like she wanted to rip it up. I was tempted to ask her what was wrong, but seeing Alberta acting cold and distant, I pushed the urge away.

We escorted Rose to her first period class, making sure she didn't do anything stupid. When I glanced at her, I saw Rose eyeing Alberta's short hair with remote interest. I silently prayed that she wouldn't even think about cutting her beautiful, thick hair short.

As we entered the gym, all the talking and movement stopped, like it had in the cafeteria. Half of the faces showed shock and the other held admiration. I watched Rose glance around with that uninterested, oh-so-familiar look on her face.

The corners of her mouth lifted as her eyes landed on a male redhead. His jaw was hanging open in shock. I struggled to remember his name. A-something. Ashford.

My heart constricted as I watched Rose eyeing him. "Hey Mason, wipe the drool off. If you're going to think about me naked, do it on your own time." Fine, I admit it. I was slightly jealous. Ashford was in love with Rose. I could tell by the admiration and awe in his eyes and the way he smiled crookedly at her. And at that moment, I wanted to hurt him. Badly. Especially when I saw Rose's eyes sparkle with fondness and affection.

I took a deep breath and composed myself. I made sure my face was completely blank while I listened in on the dhampir's conversation.

"This is my time, Hathaway." I hated the way his voice was full of soft teasing. "I'm leading today's session." His grin widened slightly.

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

"It's always a good time to think of you naked," another dhampir chimed in. This dhampir looked at Rose with affection, but I could see that he didn't love her, at least in the way Ashford did.

I was relieved, but I made sure I didn't show it. Still slightly annoyed, I muttered under my breath about how much I wanted to kill Ashford. Rose looked at me, probably wondering about my mental health. I walked away, not wanting to see Ashford flirting with Rose.

Alberta and I took our places along the wall. I couldn't hear anything unless I listened very closely. I watched with barely concealed jealousy as I watched Ashford pulling Rose by the arm, obviously claiming her as his partner.

After about an hour of watching Rose get beat up, Ashford stopped the class. They began to put away the equipment. They headed towards me, but neither one of them noticed the two guardians lurking in the corners. I still couldn't hear what they were saying, but I could tell that Ashford was flirting with her.

They passed by me, still talking. I caught some of their conversation.

"–making me take extra practice sessions. I'll be ready." It was Rose and she did not seem happy.

"Extra sessions with who?" Ashford asked. I smiled inwardly anticipating her response.

"The tall guy. Dimitri."

Ashford stopped abruptly and focused his eyes at Rose in disbelief. Rose was in for a big surprise. They were about ten feet away from me now, but I could still hear them, easily. I waited for his response. "You're putting in extra time with Belikov?" I enjoyed his amazement and awed deference to me.

Rose shrugged indifferently. "Yeah, so what?"

"So the man is a god." I was probably liking his reaction more than I should of, but right now, I didn't care. Alberta was shooting me amused looks. I shrugged and tried not to laugh out loud.

"Exaggerate much?" Rose asked as she rolled her eyes.

Ashford looked vaguely hurt. There, that would show him. I allowed a faint smile to touch my lips. "No, I'm serious. I mean, he's quiet and antisocial usually, but when he fights…wow. If you're hurting now, you're gonna be dead when he's done with you."

She elbowed him and managed to hide most of her dismay and anxiety. I was angry at Ashford, for making me sound like ax murderer, even though he was most likely right. If Rose wanted to catch up to her peers, she would have to work every spare moment.

They were still talking as I left to go on my duties to Stan Alto's room. He taught Bodyguard Theory and Personal Protection 3. I personally didn't enjoy his mean sense of humor, but he was a good guardian, in the physical sense at least.

I stood along the back wall as the students filed in. Stan's eyes widened in shock and his trademark sneer deepened as he caught sight of Rose.

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

Rose turned a deep shade of red. She began to say a smart remark, but then stopped herself with a show of control. Her face was twisted into a grimace that showed how much she hated the man in front of her. Stan's sneer deepened and he motioned for her to stand.

"Well, come on, come on. Don't sit there! Come up to the front so you can help me lecture the class." Stan was purposely mocking her, making up for what he had missed over the past two years.

Rose shrank into her seat. "You don't really mean–"

Stan's smirk disappeared and he looked angry. "I mean exactly what I say, Hathaway. Go to the front of the class."

An uncomfortable silence filled the room as Rose lazily strolled to the front of the room. She tossed her hair over her shoulders and lifted her chin, showing her languid face. I felt a small pang of pride at her attempt at indifference. She wouldn't crack.

My eyes followed Stan as he walked back to Rose. "So, Hathaway. Enlighten us about your protective techniques."

Rose faltered. "My…techniques?" I could tell that she hated being weak, hated being at the mercy of a person like Stan. My heart ached at her lost expression.

"Of course," Stan retorted, faking surprise. "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 threats."

Rose stiffened. "We never ran into any Strigoi."

"Obviously," Stan scoffed, "I already figured that out, seeing as how you're still alive." Rose's face grew pink again and she looked like she wanted to beat the crap out of Stan. I really don't think I would have minded. This guy was getting on my nerves as well.

He continued bantering and making jokes at Rose's expense. She contained her composure until Stan yelled at her, causing her to hesitate.

"We are at war with the Strigoi!" He shoved himself in her face, intent on beating this phrase into her head. "One of them could walk right up to you and snap your pretty little neck before you even noticed him–and he'd barely break a sweat doing it. You might have more speed and strength than a Moroi or a human, 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 wanted to hurt him as badly as I had wanted to hurt Ashford, but I was frozen, glued to the floor and forced to watch the humiliation Rose was going through.

She turned her head to look at the guardians in the back. I kept my face blank, devoid of any emotion. Our eyes met briefly, mine dark and serene; hers were sparkling with unshed tears of anger and embarrassment.

"Moroi blood," she whispered, tearing her gaze from mine.

Stan still insisted on being a jerk. "What was that? I didn't catch that."

Rose spun around to stare at him straight in the eye. "Moroi blood! Moroi blood makes them stronger." She glared at him with barely concealed hate.

He nodded, satisfied at her answer and her reaction. Taking a few steps back, he began speak. "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, and they want to do whatever they can to keep that immortality. Desperate Strigoi have attacked Moroi in public. Groups of Strigoi have raided academies just 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 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…" He paused meaningfully.

"…so do the dhampirs," Rose finished.

"Well." He licked his lips. "It looks like you learned something after all. Now we'll have to see if you can learn enough to pass this class and qualify for you field experience next semester."

I silently promised myself that I would get Rose ready for the field experience, if it was the last thing I'd do.

The class ended soon after and I watched her leave, her slumped shoulders and slow gait the only hint of what had happened. My chest tightened and I followed her with worried eyes.

*****************

I finished my rounds and headed towards the commons, meaning to find Alberta. She had lunch duty, which was mostly a relaxed job. The main part of it was to stop both food and fist fights.

A girl appeared out of the door of a building, staggering under heavy text books and plenty of homework. I quickened my pace, meaning to help the girl out. I was about to call out to her, but she turned her head slightly and I saw it was Rose. I fell into step next to her.

She wouldn't look at me. "I suppose you saw what happened in Stan's class." I didn't bother to correct her use of titles.

It was a hypothetical question, but I answered it anyways. "Yes."

"And don't you think he was unfair?" Of course I thought he was unfair! He was a total jerk and needed to learn as much self-control as Rose needed to. Then again, I was a little bit biased, considering I was now Rose's mentor. And wished I could be more.

Again, the small, nagging voice resonated in my head, telling me how unfair the world could be. I once again pushed it away and focused on my conversation with Rose. And as much as I wanted to tell her how unfair I thought Stan was, I didn't want to reveal anything more than a cold, distant mentor.

I responded, instead, with some questions of my own. "Was he right?" I asked, my heart sinking at her fallen expression. "Do you think you were fully prepared to protect Vasilisa?"

She stared at the ground in misery. "I kept her alive," she murmured softly. I really didn't want to ask the next question, but I did anyways.

"How did you do fighting against your classmates today?" The question was purposely cruel and by her pained look, I could tell I struck a nerve. She didn't answer. I pressed on.

"If you can't fight them–"

She interrupted. I was used to it, but it still bothered me a bit. I actually liked her impulsiveness, but I knew that Kirova and the other guardians wouldn't.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," she shot back, sulkily. She slowed down, obviously put down by my slightly mean words. I matched her stride with easy effort.

I tried to comfort her. "You're strong and fast by nature. You just need to keep yourself trained. Didn't you play any sports while you were gone?"

She shrugged despondently. "Sure. Now and then."

"You didn't join any teams?"

She screwed her face up into a grimace. "Too much work. If I'd wanted to practice that much, I'd have stayed her." I tried to keep my face still as I inwardly scowled at her laziness. If she wanted to be a good guardian for Vasilisa, she would have to do better. I planned to make her run laps in future sessions.

My face must have showed some disappointment or exasperation because she faltered for a second. I sighed. "You'll never be able to really protect the princess if you don't hone your skills. You'll always be lacking." Right now, I didn't care if I hurt her feelings. This cocky, sarcastic girl needed a hard, solid mentor, not a soft, caring one. Especially not one that had a so called "crush" on her.

"I'll be able to protect her," she responded with great passion. And no doubt she could have, that is, with the right training.

I remained cold and firm. "You have no guarantees of being assigned to her, you know–for your field experience or after you graduate." I had no regret saying these words because it was the truth. "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 have your lessons. You have me." I resisted the urge to shiver at the double-meaning behind the words. "Use us or don't. You're an ideal choice to guard Vasilisa when you both graduate–if you can prove you're worthy. I hope you will." The last sentence was pure heart; I truly did want her to succeed.

I waited for her answer, hoping it would be something along the lines of "you're right" or "I'll try." Instead, I got a conceited, bratty answer.

"Lissa," she told me, "Call her Lissa."

My temper flared with a violence that startled me. Before I could start yelling at her or do something stupid to her, I walked away, controlling both my thoughts and actions and making sure I didn't do anything rash.

I flipped open my phone and sighed. It was time for my patrol duty anyways. I directed my thoughts to Rose and wondered what in the world I would do with her. A grim smile lit up my face. Running. Laps. Well, this was going to be fun.

Soooooo..... Was it good? Plz R&R!!! Critism is appreciated as is comments/compliments. A writer can only get better if they get advice!!! Thnx!

~Leena