A/N: Well, you guys did like it :) So, here is the next chapter. This one brings a little more to the plot in my opinion. But I loved the first chapter more because it's more of Dimitri and Rose. But anyways…

Although Dimitri didn't freak out and leave me, I still felt uncomfortable. I still didn't know what to do with my life now. Would they let me graduate in my condition? Would I have to wait an extra year? I was on the verge of breaking down.

After my talk with Dimitri, I went back to my room and slept. I felt like I slept forever, but I actually slept for an hour. It was the longest night of my life. I finally found myself in a comfortable slumber. I guess I hadn't been paying attention to the actual lack of sleep I got from my tossing and turning because my internal alarm would usually wake me up at about five to get dressed and meet Dimitri. Well, that didn't happen today.

I'd been having a dream that Christian was talking to me. Christian had sharp black hair that was long, but not as long as Dimitri's. He had ice blue eyes that were sharper than Lissa's. When he wanted something from you, all he had to do was stare hard at you and he could get it.

"Rose, I didn't know you had it in you." he said.

"What are you talking about, Sparky?" That was my nickname for him. His element was fire.

"To actually start a family. I never thought that would happen. You were such a good guardian." he replied. My heart dropped into my stomach.

"Lissa told you?" I asked.

He smiled. Smiled! He tried to put his hand on mine, but I pulled away. "Rose, just look at yourself."

I looked at him, puzzled. There was a full mirror on the door a few feet from me. I got up and looked. My stomach was huge. How could that happen? I'm only a few weeks along!

"No," I breathed. When I turned back around to yell at Christian for no apparent reason, he was gone. "Where did you go? Come back, you coward!"

"Rose!"

This was Dimitri waking me up. My eyes flashed open. Dimitri didn't look happy, but he wasn't angry, either. I rolled over to look at my alarm clock. It was six. Oops. Dimitri thought I was rolling back over to go to sleep, so he rolled me back towards him.

He bent down towards me and whispered in my ear, "You may feel horrible right now, Roza, but we have to put on a show."

"We're performing?" I asked, still groggy.

I felt his chest shaking. He was laughing, but I couldn't hear it. "No, Rose. We have to mask something."

I shot up out of bed and ran to the bathroom.

"Rose, what's wrong?" he yelled.

I looked into the mirror and checked myself out. Whoo. I internally wiped my brow. I looked like my normal self. Pretty tan, pretty built, and pretty. I knew I was pretty. And my stomach was as flat as it had been yesterday.

I shook my head, not realizing that Dimitri couldn't see that. He came into the bathroom behind me and saw me checking myself out. He looked down.

"Rose, there is no way you're showing this early."

I knew that. I mean, "I know that."

He looked into my eyes. I knew he was as scared as I was. This wasn't something you dealt with lightly. "Then why are you looking at yourself like that?"

"Well," I sighed. "I had a bad dream last night. I guess it's why I didn't wake up when I was supposed to. Sorry about that, by the way, comrade." I smiled at him. This brightened the mood and he took my hand.

"Get some sweats on. It's time to put on an illusion." he told me, and slipped out of the bathroom.

I was going to meet Lissa for lunch. She wanted me to spend a little time was Tasha, Christian's aunt. I liked Tasha. She was sweet and nice. She also knew how to stand up for herself. She had black hair, like Christian, that flowed down her back. Her eyes were the same blue, and she had a scar down her face from one of her battles. It didn't make her any less beautiful, though.

I needed to take a shower before I could go. I was still sweating after practice. It turned out that all Dimitri wanted to do today was run and practice staking on dummies. No, I don't me we took idiots and staked them. I mean we staked mannequins.

I was on my way to my room, when I ran into someone. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, so it was my fault.

"Oh, I'm sorry." I said, getting up. Then I saw who it was. "Oh, it's just you, Adrian." I smiled at him.

"Little Dhampir, I've been looking for you." he replied.

I wasn't expecting that. "Oh. What's up?"

"I wanted to invite you to a party. It's going to be a lot of fun, especially if you go with me." He gave me a wiggle of his eyebrows. Sometimes, Adrian could be a pig. At other times, he was really sweet.

He had dark hair, that he always "styled". By that, I mean he messes it up and slicks some gel onto it. Then he complains if someone touches it. He's such a girl. He had brown eyes and was gorgeous. I mean, there wasn't a girl in this school who didn't want Adrian Ivashkov. He, too, was a royal, and he was a spirit user, like Lissa. He couldn't heal as well as Lissa, but he could do some things. Like bruises, cuts, and burns.

He could walk dreams, which was something Lissa couldn't do. She tried so hard, but could never do it. Every now and then when I'm sleeping silently Adrian will slip into my dream and dress me up like a doll. He can control where we go, what's there, and what we're wearing. It could get old fast.

He was also in love with me. Well, that's not quite it. He thinks he's in love with me. I don't approve of it, and he knows that I don't, but he won't change his mind. Sometimes, I wished I could split myself in two. Part would go to Dimitri and part would go to Adrian. I loved them both, but if I couldn't split myself, it would be Dimitri I go to.

"When is this party?" I asked, hoping I had something conflicting it.

"It's tomorrow night. Don't even tell me you have some guardian thing to do because I've been asking around and there are no meetings planned. So, come with me." He took my hand and looked at me sweetly.

I knew this wasn't a good idea. Adrian's parties usually consisted of cigarettes, alcohol, and dirty dancing. All three weren't a good idea in my…condition. I smiled at him, but shook my head. "Not tomorrow, Adrian. I have something important I'm doing."

He frowned. "Like what?"

Out of nowhere, there were arms wrapped around my waist. I let out a yelp. I looked up into big brown eyes that had me lost instantly. I smiled.

"Oh." Adrian said.

I looked back at him. "We could always hang out some other time." I tried to make up for it. I felt like I was talking to my little brother, even though Adrian was 21.

He looked from Dimitri back to me and his face smoothed out. "That sounds wonderful, little Dhampir. I'll see you later." With that, he ran off.

Those same arms that were around my waist turned me around and brought me up to his lips. I giggled and gave in. These were some of the happiest moments in my life. I was gleaming as he set me back down.

"What did Ivashkov want?" he asked. This made my smile disappear. I hated it when those two wanted to know every last detail about the other. Didn't Dimitri know that there was no competition? I would always choose him, no matter what.

"He was inviting me to a party." I said nothing more.

"What kind of party?" he asked, bringing my hands up to his lips. He kissed them over and over. Every touch sent electricity through me. I couldn't answer. I closed my eyes and he laughed.

I immediately opened them and blushed. "What?" I asked, looking at the ground.

"You are so beautiful, Roza." he replied.

Of course, that made my pink blush turn scarlet. Why was I blushing so much? It was like I wasn't under control anymore. I didn't blush this often. His next sentence brought me out of it.

"So, what kind of party?" he asked. This time he wanted his answer.

I shook my head and looked at him. He was wrong. He was the beautiful one here. "A typical one for Adrian." I shrugged my shoulders.

His eyes narrowed and bore into mine. "And you told him why you couldn't go?"

This wasn't the real question he was asking me. He was really asking, "And you told him that you're pregnant?" I rolled my eyes.

"Do I look that stupid? Come on, comrade, really." I laughed.

"What did you tell him?" He was curious.

Was it just me or were people too curious lately? I should start a show that would enable them to hound me with questions 24/7. I knew that would make them happy. "That I had other plans."

He smiled at me. "Good. Because you do."

Again, the blush came. "What would that be?"

Before he could answer, a scream erupted through the hallway. Dimitri and I immediately got into our fighting stances, hands on our stakes. We straightened up when we realized that it was just Lissa running towards me, yelling my name.

"Rose! Rose!" she was yelling. It was like if she didn't yell to me, I was going to disappear. I didn't notice it until she got close to me, but she was crying. I closed the distance between us and grabbed her arms.

"What is it, Liss? What's wrong?" I hated seeing her like this. My best friend had a lot of enemies, it seemed, and I was afraid that another one had tried to attack her.

"It's…it's the queen. She's here, for you." she said.

"What?" Dimitri and I said at the same time.

"She doesn't approve of you and Dimitri. I don't know what she's going to do, but it can't be good. She's in the guest room right now, but I think she's going to call you in for lunch. I only know because I was there when she arrived. One of the people there said that she was looking for you." she explained.

I locked my jaw. My back straightened and I kept my head high. There was no way she was taking Dimitri away from me. I wouldn't allow it. I just got him! And…and we were going to have a baby. She didn't know that, but it was true.

"Rose." That was Dimitri. I was going to turn, but I guess I took too long for him. He turned me around himself and looked into my eyes. "Nothing is going to happen. We are going to be fine. We won't be away from each other; I promise you."

I hadn't noticed, but I was stunned speechless. I had no idea what to say. So much was running through my head. I didn't know what I was going to do. What if she wouldn't allow us to be together here or at court? What if she tried to separate us? Would Dimitri give up his guardian life that he loved so much just to be with me? I doubted it, but there was still a sliver of hope.

He crushed me to his chest, knowing that I would say nothing. He stroked my hair and said soothing things. Things that I wasn't listening to but knew from his tone that they were soothing. As he was doing this, I knew that everything would be okay. I had to get a hold of myself. We would survive anything we went through. I knew it. We would find some way to be together.

I pulled back from him. My mind was made up. "I love you." I told him.

"I love you, too, Roza." He sighed. I realized that half of the reason why he was holding me was to comfort himself. Everything that he was saying was half for him. I quickly grabbed his hands.

"We're going to be okay. I promise that nothing will keep us apart. We may have to…keep it long distance for a little while, but as soon as I'm eighteen, it will be okay." I replied.

Lissa tugged on my arm. "Rose, can I speak with you for a second? Is that okay, Dimitri?" He nodded and let go of my hands. I walked a little down the hallway with her. She sighed.

I wondered what she was thinking. It couldn't be good by the look on her face. I wondered if maybe she was keeping something to herself. Something she didn't want to say in front of Dimitri.

"Rose, what are we going to tell her about the baby?" Lissa said.

"Nothing." That was an automatic response, but it was still true. We would say nothing to the queen about me being…well, you know.

"What about when you start showing? I mean, people will be able to do the math." Her eyes were burning holes into my head.

"What are you…?" I trailed off. I knew what she was saying now. I was 17 when Dimitri and I got together. We obeyed human laws, as well as vampire laws. Well, except for killing Strigoi. That was the only exception. "Oh no."

"I'm not saying that they'll put Dimitri in jail. I mean, you'll be eighteen by the time you start showing. You only have two weeks until your birthday. By then, you will be able to say that you wanted it. I'm just…I'm not so sure the queen will accept it." she replied.

I knew why she thought that. It was because Queen Tatiana hated me. She thought that I'd been trying to get with Adrian the last time I saw her. Sorry, but no. She yelled at me and told me to stay away from him. She had some giant plan for Lissa and Adrian to get together. I knew that would never happen. Lissa loved Christian too much.

"She'll have to. I'll do whatever it takes to keep Dimitri safe. I love him." This was more to myself than to Lissa. She turned me around and took me back to Dimitri.

"You do what you have to, Rose. I'm behind you 100 percent. Just know this: I really don't want you to leave me." Wow, that hurt. I knew she didn't want me to leave, but what choice would I have if they wanted to put Dimitri behind bars?

I needed time to think. I didn't want to leave them when they were offering me comfort, but I didn't want to be around other people when something so serious was affecting me. I didn't like it when other people could see my emotions.

I took my time getting to my room. I wanted as much time as possible to think things through. If I went slow to and from my room, it would give me more time. At least, that's what I thought at the time. It turns out, something came up, like always.

I turned the corner to walk straight into one of my friends, Eddie. He was a Dhampir like me. He took guarding just as seriously as Dimitri did, but he also goofed around a lot, too. Before Dimitri and I got together, he'd been closed off. He didn't goof around with me and he didn't smile a lot, either. Looking back, I could see just how hard he had to fight himself to keep control.

"Oh, hey, Rose. I heard about the queen being here to see you. That sucks." he said.

Like I didn't know that. "Yeah. It's crazy, right?"

He smiled but it wasn't for long. "Listen, don't let it get to you. I'm pretty sure things are going to be alright." He looked as if he knew something. He went to walk away, but I stopped him.

"Eddie, do you know something that I don't?" I asked.

He looked everywhere but at my face. "Let's just say…Adrian really does like you."

Oh no. In my shock, I let Eddie go, and he ran off. What had Adrian done? Was this all his fault? Or was Eddie talking about Adrian getting me out of this mess? Whatever it was, I didn't know if I liked it. Yeah, if Adrian could get me out, it would be great, but then I would owe him and that was something I didn't want.

I ran back to my room and took a long shower. It felt really good, and I decided that I didn't want to think about the queen anymore. I would take whatever was coming at me in stride. It didn't matter if she wanted Dimitri and I apart. I would do whatever I had to to be with him.

Things were a lot better once I got my attitude in check. I ran off to meet Lissa for lunch. She was happy to see me in a better mood. To my surprise, she invited Dimitri to lunch. Also, to my surprise, she invited Adrian. I didn't like that surprise.

What was even worse was that I was in the middle of the two. They were fighting over me without saying a word. There was no fight to be fought, my mind was made up. Dimitri knew that, but he wouldn't just let Adrian be with me all he wanted.

We were having a pretty good lunch, besides the jealousy, when one of the queen's guards came in the room.

"Rosemarie Hathaway, the queen has requested your presence. She also wants to see you, Guardian Belikov."

Oh no. How many times was I going to say that today? I got up and walked over to him, reaching for Dimitri's hand as I did. He squeezed it to let me know that everything was going to be okay. I really did hope he was right. I wanted to kiss him right then, but we couldn't stop.

The queen was in the headmaster's room for her stay. It was, apparently, where she had been having all of her meetings. She had a lot of business to take care of, from what I heard. There had been some rumors going on that she was soon to take over St. Vladimir's. I highly doubted it, but at the moment it seemed to be coming true.

She smiled as Dimitri and I walked in, which surprised me. One - she didn't like me, and two - Dimitri and I were holding hands, making our relationship known.

"Leave us." she said to her guards. Two stayed inside, never leaving the queen. I knew what that was like, having trained once or twice outside of St. Vlad's.

I decided to get down to business. I sighed. "What's this all about?" I asked. Dimitri squeezed my hand in disapproval.

The queen raised her eyebrow and…smiled? Why was she smiling?

"Rose, how long has…this been going on?" she asked, looking at our hands.

"Not long. Why?" I replied.

"Rose, watch yourself. I may allow you to question me at times, but don't think you can get away with everything. Now, I didn't call you two in to yell at you about your relationship." She looked to the ground in thought. I wondered what - or who - she was thinking about.

She continued. "Dimitri, Rose, we have a problem on our hands. Your relationship is one that will not be permitted. Most will not approve. I, although understanding, cannot sit by and let nothing happen."

"You can't separate us." Dimitri breathed. I hadn't expected something like that from him. It wasn't like him to disobey authority. Something about his tone, although soft, made it known that he wouldn't be away from me.

The queen sighed. "It has come to my attention that I owe Rose."

I gasped. I hadn't expected that. The queen owed me? For what? What had I done? Dimitri looked at me with a questioning look, but looked back at the queen after a moment.

"Adrian has told me of your brave actions during the Strigoi attack. I knew that you had performed in this battle, but didn't know just how well you had done. Rose, we - the Moroi - owe you. You, as well, Dimitri. But I have been unfair to you, Rose, and I want to apologize."

Okay, this was something that I was going to remember for the rest of my life. The queen was apologizing to me. I never thought it would happen. She hated me, after all. Even though I was being cocky on the inside, I was also concerned about where this was going.

As Dimitri and I were on our way back to the school from the cabin one afternoon - the afternoon that we slept together - I had a sudden wave of nausea. I knew what that meant. Anytime I got near a Strigoi I would get nauseous. It turned out that they were planning an attack on the school. Because of my…gift, we were able to warn others before it got too bad. We fought hard, and lost a lot of people, but won in the end.

"Again, I can't sit by and let this happen. Or, at least, I have to pretend that I can't let it happen." She smiled at us. "What I have planned is a…pretend mission."

"Pretend, your majesty?" Dimitri asked.

She gave him a look of pure joy, something I didn't think the queen had in her. "Yes. I will tell everyone that you are doing something very special for me and keep it under wraps. I'm going to tell them that you are taking Lissa and Christian to go college scouting. Everyone knows that Vasalissa wants to go to a human college away from court. They also know that Christian would do anything to be by her side.

"I'm telling everyone that you are going to go with them. We all know that Adrian will be going, too, as he is a part of your…circle, I suppose. There will be no explaining of his joining you because he is free to do what he likes."

"Thank you." I whispered.

"Now, listen. It's important. You will be going to one of my secret houses that I keep. No one knows of it. I want you to hide out there until you have the child. Once you are eighteen, everyone can know about your relationship and although there will be protests, no one will be able to do anything about it."

How did she know that I was pregnant? I decided not to question it and keep listening.

"I'm afraid I haven't come up with an idea for the child's future, but I assure you there will be something. You may not be able to be with the child at first, but you will raise it. I will think of something."

I was afraid. I didn't want to give my child to anyone else. I knew that I hadn't even begun to feel the baby, or even feel like I was pregnant. Hell, I hadn't even had morning sickness yet. But there was some kind of connection there. I knew that I would do whatever it took to both protect and keep my child. By the look in Dimitri's eyes, I could tell he felt the same way.

"Your flight will depart tomorrow afternoon. Speak to no one about this. Not even Lissa, Christian, or Adrian. They will know once I speak to them. I will come to check up on you every few months, but I can't promise much with everything going on. Now, leave. Pack, and get ready." She smiled.

There was no arguing with that. We got up, grabbed each other's hand, and turned to leave. The queen cleared her throat. We both looked at her and knew what she was doing. That was her way of telling us to knock it off until we were alone. We let our hands fall to our sides.

We were about to leave the room when Dimitri turned around.

"Your majesty?" he asked.

"Yes, Guardian Belikov?" The door was now open and the other guards could hear us. He knew this and thought about his next question carefully.

"Will there be any other guardians…attending this trip?" I knew what he meant. Will there be anyone else to guard us while I was in my condition. She nodded and he smiled at her, something I also thought was impossible. Dimitri hardly ever smiled, and I never thought he would smile at the queen herself.

We said nothing more, and as we left the room, I felt a new hope. I packed my bags with a smile, thinking of my future.

A/N: Review, please! Lemme know what else you want in the story. Any suggestions? Hehe.

~Oblivious~