So here's chapter 9!

Disclaimer: I don't own any VA characters except for Ryan and those others.

Chapter 9

Back at the Missoula airport…

After landing, I quickly got off. When I turned back, Ryan's father, or should I say my father was following me from a distance. I was confused as I tried to rack my brain of some memory that could sort this out. Thing was, he had said that mom was still carrying me while Abe got together with her. That meant I wasn't going to have any memories or him whatsoever. When I looked behind him though, for a flash, I thought I saw Dimitri.

"There's no way…he left me after I got on the airplane…" I told myself. When I turned around, starting to leave the airport, my father grabbed me.

"Not a chance. I'm not going to let you leave here this easily. You're coming with me," He told me. I yanked my hand back and growled at him.

"Don't you dare touch me!" Anger burned within me as confusion swarmed my mind. Suddenly, a portal appeared and Ryan stepped through.

"That's enough! Leave her alone!" He protected me.

"Get out of the way, Ryan. That's an order!" My father yelled.

"Rose, get out of here, run!" Ryan told me. That seemed like a good idea at the time so I fled.

"You son of bitch!" I turned back and saw Ryan slammed onto the ground. I stopped and watched. Ryan looked at me just as Mason had the moment he died.

"NO!" I ran back and right as my father was going to kill Ryan, I protected him. I covered his body with mine, slamming my father aside. Instantly, all my powers started to unleash wildly as I felt I had to do everything I could to protect Ryan. When Ryan opened his eyes again, he looked straight into my eyes.

"Rose…I'm alright…" He told me. I stood up and faced my father.

"Well, two against one now doesn't seem fair. I guess I'll come back another day," He disappeared just like that. My powers stopped and all my strength started to leave.

"I've got you," I looked up and saw Dimitri holding me up.

"Dimitri…" I mumbled.

"It's alright. I saw everything. You did a good job. Get some rest," My feet crumbled beneath me and Dimitri picked me up into his arms. "Ryan, you coming?"

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"You didn't think I would actually let you fly back on your own. I just wanted to see if you could protect yourself like you always say," He kissed my forehead. I relaxed a bit and saw Ryan looking down.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you…sis…" I looked at him.

"Sis? You mean what your father said was true, Ryan?" Dimitri asked.

"Dimitri, how much did you hear?" I asked him now.

"The entire thing. Ryan, your father well knew I was on that plane, but he didn't stop me. Why?" Dimitri asked again.

"I don't know. I was at home until I felt a chill up my spine. That's when I knew Rose was in trouble," Ryan explained. I struggled to get out of Dimitri's arms and Dimitri put me down.

"Ryan, when did you know I was your half-sister?" I asked him.

"To be honest, I've known all along. My first order from father was to capture you. That time you were alone. It was the first time we met or at least face to face. You were upset during that time and even though my orders were clear, it felt wrong to go after you when you were so vulnerable looking," He explained.

We kept walking to airport's exit.

"So how much older am I compared to you?" I asked Ryan.

"Actually it's the other way around. I'm older than you are. You were born later even though your mother carried you before I existed. Because father had injected himself with the same power the two of us have now, I grew at a faster rate. Though I look your age, I'm actually a year older than you are. If I'm not mistaken, you're seventeen, right?" I nodded. "I'm eighteen now," He answered.

"Uh, Ryan, if I may intrude. Just what does your father want with Rose besides the biological relationship?" Dimitri held my hand at this point.

"Because I grew at a faster rate, my body couldn't keep up. I was weak as a child. Father tried to train me, to be like Rose, if not stronger and faster. But I would get sick after every practice so I became the failed experiment. When he realized that, Rose became the new target. Father believes that he can find peace between Strigoi and Moroi and Dhampirs, but he would have to be the leader to keep control of everything. He needed a secret weapon. That weapon was Rose. Ibrahim Mazur eloped with Rose's mother while she was still carrying her. After that moment, Mr. Mazur banned father permanently from every approaching Rose. He was well aware of the dangers of the power. He knew that if Rose trained with the power, she'd die at a young age. But recently, the Strigoi have gotten restless. They have been coming for father, asking where Rose was. Somehow the Moroi have started attacking the Strigoi much more recently and it's been hard for father to suppress their restlessness any longer. That's why he needs Rose. He wants Rose to destroy the Moroi who have been attacking the Strigoi while at the same time helping him gain position within the world," I looked at Ryan with a strange look.

"So in other words, he's no different from the typical evil villain of wanting to take over the world," I spoke up.

"To put it in simple terms, yes," Ryan answered. "Your father, so to speak, Abe Mazur, tried to protect you and your mother from all of this. Unfortunately, things have started to unravel because you have been hidden for so long. You might think your mother abandoned you at the school, but it was for a good reason. The wards that keep the Strigoi away, kept father away too. He couldn't reach you as long as you stayed within school ground. But two years ago, you ran. You took Princess Vasilisa with you. That's when your existence was known to father. He followed you. He wanted to test you, see how much you've grown, but the night he tried to attack, Guardian Belikov beat him to it," He explained more in depth.

"That night in Portland?" I asked. Ryan simply nodded. "How did you know about that?" At this point, we all got into the car that was heading to the academy.

"Well, it wasn't hard to guess since I tailed you during that time. I've been watching you for two years as hard as it may seem. You gave me multiple instances to capture you, but I disobeyed father. I couldn't do it," He admitted. From the look of his face, he was really upset about it too. "Every day, it was always father saying how strong you were compared to me. To be honest, at one point, I thought I would kill you. But I couldn't. I saw your different emotions then. Loving, caring, strong, brave, all of those, including sadness, happiness, it became fun for me to watch you. Eventually, all I wanted was to protect you from father. I couldn't stand seeing your happiness be torn from you," He smiled at me. His smile carried pure sadness though. It was unbearable to the point, I started crying.

"Rose…" Dimitri put his arm around me.

"Rose, are you okay?" Ryan asked. I turned away from him.

"She's alright. Just give her some space," Dimitri rubbed my back. "It's a lot for her to take in right now," After we got back to the school, I looked around. Things hadn't changed much and classes were still going on. "Rose, why don't you go back and get some rest?" Dimitri suggested. I shook my head.

"I have something to figure out. Ryan?" He nodded.

"Dimitri, why don't you head back and go check in with Headmistress Kirova. I'll be in the school garden," Dimitri gave me a kiss and I kissed him back.

"I'll see you in twenty?" I nodded. Ryan and I headed to the garden.

"So…" I tried to start a conversation somehow. "Now that we're back here, is father going to come after me?" I asked.

"Most likely. He knows you're back at the school already by now. He won't be able to approach you personally, but even now, there's probably someone watching us," I sighed.

"I'm really never going to have a normal life, will I…" I tried to laugh.

"Rose…" He looked at me sadly. "I'm sorry!" He suddenly hugged me. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you from all this sooner. I was such a coward and I couldn't face you as a Strigoi either!" I smiled and hugged him back.

"It's alright. I'm not that weak. That just means I have to start training with this power," Ryan let go of me.

"You can't! It'll kill you," He warned me.

"I know it might. But I'm not one to just stay here and be a sitting duck. I've already learned the spells Bahlskra, Signum, and the Sand Coffin," Ryan sighed.

"It's not that simple. Anyone can master those spells. Those are simple defense spells. You need to learn attack spells too. We also have to boost up your defense spells. Rose, it's a lot of work. If you don't learn the spells correctly, they backfire and burn you," He pulled off his shirt and on his back were multiple scars that looked like burn marks. My breath hitched.

"What happened?" I asked cautiously.

"Father wanted me to learn spells quickly so he made me practice a lot. Thing was, he never taught me how to learn the simpler versions first. So every time a move failed, it shot electricity through my back, and then the burn marks appeared," I touched them gently and he shuddered.

"I'll heal them," I told him. He quickly grabbed my arm.

"No. Promise me that you will never learn the healing spell!" I backed away quickly.

"Why not?" I asked.

"The spell destroys the user bit by bit. The more you heal, the more damage to the user. It takes your energy and puts it in the other person. But heal too much and the user will die," He released my hand and put his shirt back on again.

"Rose, learning this type of magic is dangerous. Please don't treat it lightly," His voice became cold and I knew I had to drop the subject.

"I should probably go," I told him. He didn't stop me as I ran to Dimitri's room. When I was running to Dimitri's room, I collided with someone. "Ouch!" I looked up and saw Dimitri.

"Is something wrong?" He asked. It took me a second to realize what he said so I shook my head.

"No. Nothing's wrong," Dimitri unlocked his door and let me into his room. I ran in and jumped onto his bed, rolling side to side on the bed. When I heard the door close, I stopped though.

"What did Ryan say to you, Rose?" He asked in a stern voice. He had caught on that something was wrong.

"Nothing really. He was just telling me what spells I had to learn and what needed to be done," I told him.

"Then why do you look upset? Rose, what's bothering you?" He asked. I sighed, trying to smile.

"Nothing. He just said that I shouldn't learn the healing spell. He said that it would destroy the user bit by bit and he wasn't going to let me sacrifice myself for his injuries. Dimitri, he's been hurt badly before. There were burn marks all over his back from misuse of power. I wanted to heal him, but he wouldn't let me," I told him everything.

"That's because he has a good heart. He's trying to protect you the way an older brother should protect their younger sister," He smiled. I had forgotten that Dimitri had Viktoria to protect. He understood Ryan better than anyone.

"I thought you hated him before," I told Dimitri.

"I did, until I found out all this just now," I looked at him oddly.

"Wait, did you think he was going to be competition for you?" I teased him.

"No! Why would I? He's just a brat," I giggled now.

"Stop laughing!" He yelled. I just started to crack up. "Why you-" Dimitri tackled me on his bed and started to tickle me. As we fought a tickle war, he finally stopped and kissed me tenderly. I relaxed and kissed him back. "I love you, Roza," He whispered in a husky voice. After that, we made love for hours without end.

Few hours later…

"Roza? Sweetheart, time to wake up," Dimitri nudged me. I mumbled something incoherently and opened my eyes. When I sat up, I cringed.

"Ow…" Dimitri laughed.

"That's what you get for teasing me," He mocked. I threw a pillow at him. When I got off the bed, I winced and tried to stabilize myself. Dimitri realized how bad it looked and came to help me stand.

"Are you okay?" He took my arms and wrapped them around his neck while his hands were on my hips. I leaned into him and slowly regained strength in my legs.

"Yeah. Just stay like this for a bit," I eventually started to move my legs and Dimitri let go of me.

"Come on, it's time for dinner," He tossed me my clothes that ended up on the other end of the room. I quickly got dressed and followed him out. When we started to head to the cafeteria, I saw my brother training outside.

"Wait, I'll go get him," I left Dimitri for a bit and headed into the garden. "Ryan! It's time for dinner!" I shouted. He ignored me and kept training. I looked around him and saw earphones that were blasting loud music. When I stood in front of him, he was about to kick and I jumped back.

"Rose! Don't sneak up on me like that! You could've gotten hurt!" He scolded me.

"You had earphones in. Don't blame me," I argued back.

"What's up?" He asked.

"It's dinnertime," I stated.

"Oh. You go on ahead. I'll catch up in a bit," He had a tense face on.

"Is something wrong?" I asked him. He smiled, and shook his head.

"It's alright. Just go on ahead," He told me. I had an uneasy feeling about Ryan's behavior. He seemed to be hiding something, but what, I didn't know. Either way, I joined up with Dimitri and we headed to the cafeteria. When I turned to look, Ryan was no longer training. He was just standing there.

"Dimitri, something's wrong with him…" I pointed out. Dimitri looked and headed over to Ryan.

"Go get a table. I'll find you inside," I was worried about Ryan. Something didn't seem right. I stood and watched from a distance as it looked like Dimitri was talking to Ryan. Then it started to get violent. Before I knew it, Ryan pushed Dimitri back. I ran towards them.

"What are you-" Suddenly Dimitri upright punched Ryan.

"Don't you ever say that about her!" I heard Dimitri yell at him.

"She's weak and you know it! I want to protect her as much as you love her, but it's hard when everyone is after her! The Strigoi are after her and her own father is after her! And I can't let her learn anymore moves. She's going to die!" I heard Ryan argue back and clenched my fist. He thought I was weak. That landed Ryan another hit from Dimitri.

"Say she's weak again and I will make you wish you were back with your father! She's not weak and you know it! She's been through a lot, more than you have despite your battle scars to prove it!"

"Stop…" Suddenly both of them turned to me.

"Rose…"

"Roza…"

"Ryan, you're mean!" I screamed and suddenly a spark of darkness struck at Ryan, sending him a few steps back. "I'm not weak, and I'll prove it!" I charged at him and tackled him into a tree. He grunted and I looked into his eyes. Instantly, I grabbed his neck and threw him downwards into the ground. Ryan grabbed my arm and sent me flying straight after. I landed on the roof of a building and growled menacingly. Finally, the darkness wrapped itself around me like a barrier as I launched myself at Ryan, tackling him from the roof.

"That's enough!" Dimitri stepped in front of Ryan and I slammed into Dimitri instead. Dimitri hit a tree and grunted, but still kept a firm grip on me. I struggled to get out of his grip, but he held on tight.

"That's enough, Roza! Snap out of it!" He covered my eyes and curled up with me in his lap. "It's alright. Just let it go," I struggled against him. "Look at me, Rose," He brought my head up so that I was looking straight at him. "That's a good girl. Come on, it's time for dinner," Dimitri helped me stand as I looked at Ryan.

"I'm only trying to protect you," He whispered. I left him and went with Dimitri. After we got into the cafeteria, Lissa walked by me cheerfully.

"Huh?" She turned to me and her face brightened. "ROSE!" She tackled me and gave me the biggest hug possible. "Hey everyone! Rose is back!" Christian and the others from the table stood up and came to greet me. I hugged everyone back.

"God, I missed all of you guys!" I yelled while laughing. Dimitri looked from a distance with a smile on his face. He knew this was my home and that I couldn't be removed from it. I quickly grabbed food and joined the others. This was definitely home. Dimitri grabbed a salad and just sat down next to me. He brushed my hair quickly with his hand and smiled at me.

"Welcome home, darling," Dimitri told me. I nuzzled against him and everyone awed.

"Welcome home, indeed," I responded.

Now isn't that a cute ending to a chapter! Hope you guys really enjoyed this chapter so please review! Please and thank you! Until next chapter, stay tuned!