A/N: I believe I got "Trial" and "Court" mixed up, but I won't be fixing it, I hope you don't mind. Now an appearance will be made by a personal favourite character of mine. A Huge thanks goes out to Katrina who edited this chapter for me. And thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favourited and story alerted this. I hope you like it =) Reviews are appreciated. But I don't demand them, I will update regardless of how many reviews I get! The title of the chapter isn't actually an indicator of timing in the story, it just sounded right ;) Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Lol. The title of the chapter - Gone in September Belongs to Mike Posner, another artist you should look out for.

I got up quickly, I couldn't listen to him tell me we couldn't be together again. I've heard them one too many times and I never did listen to them.

"You know what, forget it," I said. "I know what you're going to say. I don't need to hear it…"

"Roza wait…" he started to say before I was pulled into Lissa's head.

She was in full panic mode as she was being led out of her cell by the guardians; I sent her calming waves. "I'm here with you Lissa, it will be okay, I promise you," I mentally said to her, hoping I managed to calm her a bit. "I will do everything in my power to make sure nothing happens to you."

I watched through her eyes as they led her through the halls toward the court. They had a guardian either side of her, her panic began to settle as I continued to send my calmness through the bond. They led her into the court and put her in the stand, I could see all of our friends and family sitting in the stands. Christian looked like a wreck, so did Adrian, Eddie had his stoic guardian face on, showing no emotion but the look in his eyes said he didn't feel that way, he was scared for her.

I watched through her eyes in my own shock as Dimitri was led into the court, why wasn't I there? My blood began to boil, why was he there and not me? I was supposed to be her best friend and I was sitting here in the cell watching it through her eyes. The trial began as various guardians spoke, each gave their evidence. I felt the shock through me.

Where did all of this evidence come from?

Soon it was Lissa's defence lawyers turn to speak, he presented a witness. "I'd like to call Dimitri Belikov to the witness stand." I was probably now sitting in the cell looking completely blank with my mouth wide open, nice, real nice. They proceeded to swear Dimitri in before the lawyer began to question him.

"Where were you the night of Queen Tatiana's murder?" the lawyer questioned ominously, I knew I wasn't going to like his answer.

"I was with the princess," he replied. His face wore the famous guardian mask – stoic and emotionless, some of the crowd gasped while others shook their heads in disgust.

"How long were you with the princess?" the lawyer questioned.

"The entire night," his Russian accent was thick with guilt, or at least I thought it was guilt.

"Do you have a time line?"

"I'd say from about 6pm until about 6am," he answered, he sounded truthful. I saw the hurt expression on Christian's face through Lissa's eyes whereas my own sense of anger and betrayal filled me – how could they?

The lawyer asked Dimitri a few more questions before letting him go. I watched the rest of the trial as they decided to send Lissa to court, I couldn't help the small sense of smug satisfaction I felt. She was going back to prison until her trial in a few months. I pulled out of her head scolding myself for being so petty but I couldn't help it.

As I let my head rest against the hard pillow closing my eyes in an attempt to control my emotions, I was ready to cry again but I was too strong for that. I couldn't let Dimitri see me like this; I was sad and disappointed but mainly pissed off and that was the emotion intended to show Dimitri. He was led back into the cell a few minutes later; I fought to gain control of my emotions as I sat up looking at him.

"You disgust me," I hissed.

"It's not like…" he began to argue before I cut him off again.

"Well, I don't want to know about it, whatever the hell it is. I'm done trying." I put my own guardian mask on hoping that unlike Dimitri, my eyes could also mask the truth even though, I was actually falling apart inside. As if some divine intervention was taking place a guardian opened the cell door.

"Rose Hathaway, you have a visitor."

I was once again led to a fancy visiting room and was made to sit at the table. Feeling relieved that I had a visitor to distract me from Dimitri. Though the moment I saw who decided to grace me with his presence, I wasn't sure if I should be relieved for the distraction but I decided I should be.

"I see you are well Rosemarie," Abe chuckled harshly as he sat down across from me. Despite the fact that Abe Mazur is my father, the emotional bond wasn't quite there yet and we were so much alike I wasn't sure we could get along.

"Oh yes very well, Zmey…" There was a tone of sarcasm in my voice as I used his nickname among the people of Russia. "If you've come here to laugh at me dear father, give it a rest."

"Actually, I had come here to bail you, the laughter was just a bonus, can't you see the irony of the circumstances?" he gave another light chuckle.

"So are you actually going to bail me out, daddy dearest?" I didn't have time for his jokes.

"Sure am, honey bunch," he said. "Also, I suppose you'd like me to bail out your boyfriend?" There was a tone of resentment and anger in the word boyfriend, was my father becoming protective of me? I did not see that one coming.

"Actually..." Dimitri and Lissa could rot in this place for all I cared at the moment. "...no, I wouldn't."

"Are you sure?" the look of shock was evident on Abe's face – he obviously didn't see that one coming.

"One hundred and ten percent sure, old man." I grinned a little.

"Well then, I'll go bail you out." We both stood up and I reached over the table and hugged him. Oh this was definitely a surprise to the both of us. We didn't get along but at least he was bailing me out and getting me away from Dimitri at the same time. I never actually thought I'd be glad to get away from Dimitri until now. I couldn't stand staying in that cell with him.

I was led back to the cell once Abe went to sort things out. Dimitri had just been sitting on the edge of the bed until he heard me coming in. He stood up, looking like he wanted to say something but instead I cut him off.

"I'm getting bailed out," I said, trying to keep my composure as I looked at him. "By my dad," I added. I said that because I knew he had no idea I'd even met my father, I wanted to hurt him by showing him that he didn't know everything about me, that there was something he wasn't told.

"Your father?" a look of confusion and hurt crossed his face.

"My father," I shrugged. "Abe Mazur, maybe you've heard of him. Your family didn't seem to trust him but my mother does so he can't be that bad."

"When did you meet him?"

"In Russia – when I went looking for you," I replied. The memory of going back there to kill the Strigoi Dimitri sent shivers down my spine but the Dimitri in front of me was no longer Strigoi.

"I didn't know he was my father until I got back here," I finished off. It was becoming difficult to sound bubbly and happy when I was feeling horrible doing it, I got up as the Guardian opened the cell.

"Looks like your free Hathaway," he said dryly. I had been giving him attitude from the moment I'd been put in this cell.

"See you around, Dimka." I walked out with the guardian, a single tear rolling down my cheek.

I walked through the Royal court with Abe feeling a mixture of pain and relief, I was glad I was no longer trapped in the cell with Dimitri but at the same time I was still hurt that he and Lissa had done what they had done. Not only that but also the fact that I set out to intentionally hurt him, it wasn't like me.

"Dad, I know I shouldn't ask because you've done a lot for me but…" The fact that I had just called him – dad – stopped him in his tracks. It wasn't that I wanted to call him that but my pride had taken too many hits in one day for me to care about it now. "I would like to travel and I don't have the money..."

"Well, I can give you some money," he said and continued walking. "But only if you take a guardian with you," he added. I rolled my eyes at the suggestion; I was more than capable of looking after myself. "There are people who don't see eye to eye with me Rose and now that people know you're my daughter that puts you in a lot more danger. No Guardian, no travel."

"Fine," I frowned, knowing this was my only opportunity to get away.

I stood in the airport terminal waiting for the Guardian my father had arranged to escort me on my trip. This was going to be interesting but a bit of a bother. For a moment, I felt almost like a Moroi even, though that is way beyond me. My father and I continued to stand there for a few more minutes before a guy approached us that made me glance at my father and back at the guardian before us.

He had short scruffy light brown hair, gorgeous crystal blue eyes, his face was smooth and clean shaven. His skin was lightly tanned and to top it off, he didn't look like most guardians, for one, he was shorter than most and he had a stocky build. Yet, my father seemed to trust him.

"Mr Mazur," he spoke with a melodic yet rugged English accent as he shook my father's hand.

"Guardian Eastwood," Abe smiled at the man before introducing me. "This is my daughter, Rosemarie Hathaway." I found myself blushing as I shook his hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Miss Hathaway," he kissed my hand lightly.

"Please, call me Rose and it's nice to meet you too, Guardian Eastwood." Once he let go of my hand, I put it in my pocket.

"You can call me Asher." He smiled sweetly. Wow.

A/N: I think it's obvious that Abe is one of my favourite characters. Lol. And what do you think of Asher? I'm personally in love with him…but I'm slightly bias. Reviews please and thank you.