Well, here's the next chapter. What will Lissa do to poor Dimitri? My heart goes out to poor little Rose...

Lissa's POV

I pulled Dimitri into my room, and in feeling his reluctance, I dropped his arm. I quickly shut the door, so that Rose couldn't see what I was doing. She would hate it for me later, if she ever found out, but it was something I had to do.

For Adrian.

For her.

"Princess Vasilisa?" Guardian Belikov started somewhat formally, obviously trying to reinforce the boundaries of our relationship. His face had broken from its indifferent mask to show a look of surprise and disgust in his eyes. His mouth turned down at the corners.

I motioned him to take a seat on the couch, but he refused, opting rather to stand against the wall that sported the door. His hands were crossed steadily behind his back, and I could read his stance perfectly. He didn't want to get involved with me any further than as a guardian, and if I made a move he had an easy escape.

"Well, you must be wondering what this is all about," I broke the silence tentatively.

"Obviously," He replied with a hint of sarcasm, which made me smile slightly. That comment reminded me slightly of Christian. Oh, if only Christian was here...

"Well, you can relax. I'm not going to molest you or anything," I tried again.

His stance stayed rigid. In that annoyingly upright pose. He didn't even laugh at my joke.

Couldn't he see that all I wanted to do was talk?

I hiccuped loudly, and he kept looking on ahead. And then I lost my temper.

"For God's sakes!" I picked up a cushion angrily and threw it at him. He dodged it reflexively, allowing it to hit the wall with a soft thud. "Who do you think I am, Camille Conta? I'm Lissa! I don't do what I know your thinking right now! I just wanted to talk to you WITHOUT ROSE!"

I kicked a chair over in my anger. My outburst seemed to have shocked him into moving closer into the room with his arm out soothingly, an I-don't-know-what-to-do-with-this-deranged-Moroi-princess look on his face. But I backed away from him. Anyone who even thought that I would even think such a thing had to be the lowest grade piece of manure ever.

"Lissa, calm down," Dimitri said, not noticing what had set me off.

"Says who? Guardian Let's-insult-Lissa-just-because-she-invited-me-into-her-room Belikov?" I snapped, kicking over another chair. I flinched slightly as Dimitri took another step towards me, and leaned in close. He sniffed me.

"Are you drunk?" He questioned, looking me in the eyes.

"I only had one drink..." I looked away, my face going red.

I saw him lift one of his eyebrows through my peripheral vision, and winced.

"Maybe two drinks..."

He sighed, and my anger dissipated all of a sudden. I hadn't noticed it before, but I was so easily aggravated by the small amount of alcohol in my system. And to blow off at Guardian Belikov, of all people, seemed shameful. I knew that he didn't deserve it.

I vowed never to drink alcohol again. It was making me too moody.

"Look, Lissa, I only do what I do to protect you, other Moroi, and to stay on guard at all times. I'm not sure what you wanted, or what you want, but you seem like you've had one too many drinks at the party earlier this night," he said in a strangely calming voice. "It would be wrong of me to supposedly take advantage of you while your in that state, and until I knew what your true motives are, I will protect you from afar."

I blinked at the long speech, clearly not expecting such a detailed explanation.

Well, that's Guardian Belikov for you.

He walked past me and picked up the glass Rose had given me, and filled it with tap water. He handed it to me, and I sculled it quickly. I could feel a relaxing sensation float through my body, keeping the alcohol at bay.

Although tomorrow morning may not be so fun...

"You said you wanted to talk about something?" He probed. "Without Rose...?"

I could read the subtext easily. 'You want to let me in on a secret your keeping even from Rose? What a disloyal friend.'

"Yes. I do. And, because the subject matter is Rose, I beg you not to let this conversation somehow leak its way out to her."

He laughed dryly. "I, too, have my standards and reputation, just like you. Trust and Respect are quite high on my list."

I nodded in response, knowing that it was true.

"I just know that Rose has a way of wheedling certain information that she wants out of people, so I just wanted to make sure."

"Caution has saved lives before."

"This isn't life threatening. But thanks for the compliment."

I smiled warmly at him, happy to finally have a civil conversation. He seemed to have seated himself on the couch without me noticing, and was glad that one more barrier was down.

"So, I wanted to ask you a favour..." I began again, knowing that I should have just started this whole episode with those eight words. He continued looking at me, either trying to read my emotions or urging me on to continue.

"To do with Rose?" He asked, while I was planning out my words carefully. It's a good thing he catches on quick. I nod, and if the understanding wasn't clear on his face before, it was now.

"Well, she and I were playing a game earlier, and we made bets with this game." I paused, and took in a deep breath. "And one of the outcomes of this bet, is that I have to pretend to 'hit' on you, if you get what I'm saying."

He certainly looked like he knew what I meant, although clearly not happy about it.

Not happy is an understatement.

"But I don't want to," I continued quickly, before he could interrupt. "No offence, or anything. I know your a nice guy and all, but... Anyways, back on topic."

"You want to pretend to hit on me, and that I pretend to accept it infront of Rose, right?" He guessed, and I nodded. I could already see his answer forming on his lips.

"No. I do not want to take part in your foolish game."

"But that's not going to stop me from hitting on you," I countered, proving my point by batting my eyelashes. He pointedly ignored my actions.

"What's the other outcome of the bet?" He diverted, reading between the lines. I hoped he hadn't noticed that.

Who was I kidding? Of course he would notice! He has the senses of a hawk.

"Well, Rose has to go out with Adrian," I phrased carefully, watching his face. It did not change. "It's not like she already has a boyfriend or anything. And Adrian really does adore her."

Guardian Belikov's face hardened slightly at the second sentence.

"So you and Adrian set up a plan to get Rose to hook up with Adrian?" He demanded bluntly. I blushed, not liking the accusatory glare he was sending my way.

"Not really. Adrian had nothing to do with it. I just think it would be very sweet if they... and they're both single... and..." I let my sentence trail off, because it looked like I had lost Guardian Belikov's attention. He was already standing and on the way to the door.

"Where are you going?" I asked, annoyed. It was rude of him to leave in the middle.

"I'm going to my room. It is well past midnight, as you know, and we both need to get some sleep tonight." His hand rested on the door knob. "And I already told you – I don't want to take part of your childish games.

"Please, Dimitri?" I pouted, using his first name for the first time to his face. I was also sure to let some of my charming charisma soak through my words. "Please, do it for Rose? Do it for me?"

Compulsion. Such an ugly word for what I was doing. And I was sure not to use much of it, because I knew Rose disapproved.

But that little bit was enough. Dimitri's eyes glazed over slightly, and he looked like he was walking in a dream.

"Please, will you pretend to be my boyfriend for a while, Dimitri? At least infront of Rose?"

"Yes, Lissa." He said slowly. I nodded, feeling guilt well up in the pit of my stomach. I felt bad for doing this to one I trusted so much.

"And no telling Rose." I reinforced, just in case he forgot.

"I promise," He replied, and I almost laughed at how strange those words seemed coming out of Guardian Belikov's mouth.

He shook his head vigorously from side to side, as if trying to clear his mind of fog. He saw me standing staring at him, and for a moment his defence broke and his eyes were full of questions.

"Goodnight, Dimitri," I said, blowing him a kiss. Just to see if it really worked.

"Night, Lissa," He replied somewhat dazedly, and left my room.

The second the door closed, I jumped up and down cheering. I just completed Step 1. Now the rest depended on Rose. And Adrian.

I hopped into bed in my clothes, suddenly feeling the weight of the day on my shoulders. I was tired, and sleepy. I needed to rest up for tomorrow. Even if I wasn't actually doing anything.

I closed my eyes, and fell into near instant sleep.

I couldn't wait to tell Adrian what happened when he visits my dreams tonight...

Umm, sorry for the shortish chapter, but I'm going on holidays pretty soon, to a place where I may or may not get internet connection. I thought you guys would like this chapter before I go, though, coz I gave you an evil cliffy last chapter. So if I do get internet, expect to see another chapter before 3 weeks... Sorry...

Onto important matters. Sorry if Lissa seemed out of character in this chapter, but I tried for hours to make it sound right. And it still doesn't. But I remember reading in the books that Lissa loses her temper easily under the influence of alcohol, so I incorporated that. And I hope that she sounded like the usual Lissa in this.

Oh, and by the way, there is a poll on my profile page (Hinthint). Who you want Rose to end up with in this fanfic. Because that will decide the ending. But for the beginning it will be a reluctant RosexAdrian. But Lissa will end up with Christian. I promise. Unless you want otherwise...

Wow, long authors note. Sorry. Please review, even if you do add this story to alerts or whatnot. I need to know where to improve and what type of things you guys like. So that you can like it more =]

Thanks,
Hope~