Okay lovely readers, here is the next chapter. This takes place four years in the future from when you last read about Rose. So I hope you enjoy.


I was woken by a pair of very small feet bouncing on my stomach. And it hurt. A lot.

"Ivana Vasilisa Bell." I groaned. "What are you doing?"

"I'm waking you up, Mummy."

"Get off me, and come and give me a proper hug." She dropped onto the bed beside me, and gave me a hug, her small arms winding around my neck, snuggling her head into my neck.

"Good morning Angel." I told her, placing a kiss on her forehead. I loved having her in the same room as me, but early mornings like this made me wish she wasn't my overly enthusiastic roommate.

Master Gregori had been very kind when Ivy was born and gave me a large room, with a crib. The plan was to move her next door when she was older, but with the influx of new Dhampirs into the complex, there just wasn't room, so Ivy had her little bed, which Jade had painted with Dragons, pushed right next to mine.

"Mummy?"

"Yes, Angel."

"Can you and Auntie Jade teach me those kicks you were doing yesterday?" She asked eagerly.

"I think they may be a little difficult for you, sweetheart." She pouted, and I tweaked her nose. "We can do some little kicks though. Is that okay?"

"Yes." She lay still for a moment, then started wriggling. "Can we have breakfast now? Uncle Seth said there were would be pancakes!" Ivy had inherited my appetite and always kept me updated with the breakfast menu.

"Well then we better get ready, shouldn't we?"

I heaved myself out of bed, and changed into my black jeans, and the blue shirt Ivy had picked out for me. For Ivy I picked out a beautiful blue casual dress, which matched my shirt, and paired it with white stockings. She was only going to be a little girl once, and I was determined she would get as normal a childhood as possible. This meant she had to wear all the normal girly stuff, other little girls her age would wear, instead of the combat gear I usually wore, and that she usually nagged to wear as well.

Quickly I wiped a brush through her hair, and left it loose around her shoulders, only pushing it back with a butterfly clip Jade had made for her. As she played around with the position of the clip, I did my own hair, tying it back in a high ponytail, then putting on a layer of lip balm. Looking in the mirror, you couldn't see many obvious changes, but being a mother had changed me, and I looked older and more worn. I also had faint worry lines around my eyes, but Ian told me they were laugh lines so I shouldn't worry about it. I knew it wasn't exactly true though, the last four years hadn't been easy.

Although I had the support of everyone around me, I had lost everyone else who I had counted on for years, and I was no longer carefree and happy. And my pregnancy had been pretty terrible, with terrible morning sickness, and countless complications. Though when Ivy was born, it was all worth it. She had made me appreciate life so much more, and Seth told me that when Ivy was born, it was the first time he had truly seen me smile.

An impatient "Mummy!" broke me out of my thoughts, and I turned to see Ivy lined up next to the door smiling angelically at me.

"What is it, Ivy?"

"It's photo time, mummy. Did you forgot?"

"Of course I didn't forget." I lied. "I was just a bit lost in my thoughts."

Photo time was something I had started since the first day Ivy was born. Every day I took a photo of Ivy, and at the end of each month I printed them out, and put them in an album. I now had three albums filled to the brim with photographs. I wouldn't admit it to myself, but I secretly hoped that one day I would be able to send these to Dimitri, and he would be able to see what a beautiful little girl his daughter was.

It was impossible though, but it kept my hope alive, that one day, however far in the future it would be, he would be able to meet her.

I quickly took the photo, and then taking Ivy's outreached hand, walked with her to the breakfast hall.

As we walked to our table, people all around us greeted us. Giving Ivy hugs and high fives, and me smiles and gentle good mornings. Throughout the years I had gained the respect of the complex, and now I was considered a leader, second only to Master Gregori. Having Ivy by my side also helped. Everyone loved her, and I had a ready supply of babysitters at my disposal, for training sessions and the occasional Strigoi raid I went on. We reached our table where Jade was already sitting, and to my disgust she was eating a bowl of raisin bran cereal. She rose as we reached her, to give me a hug, and then crouched down to Ivy's level.

"Hi, there princess!" She greeted her.

"Aunty Jade!" Ivy squealed, giving her a hug. "Mummy did you hear that? She called me Princess."

"She always calls you princess, sweetheart."

"Because…" Ivy said, signaling me to fill in the blank, this being part of our daily routine.

"Because you were named after the Queen, whose name is Vasilisa."

"So shouldn't she call me Queen?" Ivy said, asking a new question for a change.

Ian laughed from where he came up behind Ivy and ruffled her hair. "We have to call you princess, because you're little, and when Queen Vasilisa was little she was also a princess."

"Oh." Said Ivy knowledgeably. "Uncle Ian's so smart."

"Really? I never knew that." I said sarcastically, keeping a straight face for Ivy.

"Miss Rose Bell doesn't know something? What's happened?" Seth said, coming up to the table and plopping down next to Ivy, after placing a plate of pancakes in front of her. "Hey, baby girl how's it going?" He asked Ivy, giving her a generous squirt of syrup.

"I was just telling Mummy how smart Uncle Ian is." She told him.

"You know I never knew that either." Seth joked.

"Did you know that Aunty Jade?" Ivy asked.

"I've always known Uncle Ian has a very special brain." Jade told her, with hidden emphasis on the special. Seth and I burst into laughter, while Ian gave us all a disgusted look, and Ivy went on eating pancakes. Breakfast passed quickly, as we all dug into our pancakes and traded various insults, designed to go straight above Ivy's head.

Later we had combat practice, and I dropped Ivy off at an elderly Damphir named Linda. Linda used to be a guardian at an Academy Kindergarten, and though she had guarded it, her real passion was teaching. Sadly no one had supported her, and she took the job at the Academy so she could almost kid herself that she was achieving her dream. Forty years later she realised that she wasn't achieving her dream at all, and she needed to change. That's when she met Master Gregori and moved to the Complex. Now she was my most faithful babysitter, and also helped teach Ivy, who was very bright, and already knew all the numbers and the alphabet.

The day passed quickly, as I was planning a new teaching course for some of our more junior Dhampirs to improve their technique. It was hard work, but satisfying, especially when I saw their obvious progression in fighting. Later I had a private lesson with Master Gregori who I was yet to beat, but very close to. Or so I told myself.

Soon it was Ivy's bedtime and I was lying beside her, cradling her in my arms, telling her the story of Aladdin which was one of her favourites. Near the end I noticed she was yawning and wound my story up, ending of course with a happily ever after.

"And they all lived happily ever after. Goodnight my Angel." I told her, smoothing her hair away from her face. "I love you more than there are stars in the sky."

"I love you more." Ivy told me sleepily.

"That's not possible." I told her.

"Yes possible." Ivy said, her eyes fluttering closed. Our nightly exchange sparked my memory of Ivy's third birthday. We had all gone on a picnic, and stayed outside all day, playing games, and swimming in the dam, and finally stuffing our faces with chocolate cake. Late in the evening everyone packed up and left me and Ivy outside on a picnic rug. We were both staring up at the night sky, when I noticed Ivy had tears dribbling down her face.

"What's wrong sweetheart?" I asked frantically, pressing her close to me.

"I can't do it." She sobbed.

"Do what angel? What can't you do?" I asked frantically.

"I can't count them."

"Count what?"

"The stars, mummy, I can't count them. There's too many."

"Oh sweetheart." I sat up and pulled her onto my lap, wrapping my arms around her. "Can I tell you a secret?" She nodded tearfully. "I can't count them either. There's too many to count. No one in this entire world can count them." Ivy started to perk up, and I continued. "And there's a special name for it too. It's called an infinity."

"No one can count it?" She asked.

"Yes sweetheart, and no one knows where it ends either, it's so big. It's like how much I love you."

"What?" She asked confused.

"My love for you can't be measured, and there is no end."

"I love you more though."

"Not possible."

"Yes possible."

A sharp knock on my door drew me out of my memories, and I carefully extracted myself from under Ivy, and opened the door.

"We need to talk." Master Gregori told me.

"Hello to you too." I joked.

"I'm serious Rose, there is a problem." His grave face snapped me into action, and I quickly gathered my stake and jacket.

"Ok, I'm coming." I carefully closed the door behind me, and followed Master Gregori down the corridor. I felt completely safe leaving Ivy alone, I trusted everyone in the complex, and I knew that if she woke up, she could always go next door, to Jade or Ian, or Seth who was opposite.

Master Gregori led me into his small study, and I took a seat in one of the armchairs next to the fire.

"What's the problem?" I asked.

"I never thought this would happen. Never. I was so stupid. I should of expected this. How could I have been so stupid?" Master Gregori ranted, pacing furiously next to the fire.

"Stop. Tell me what's happened. Slowly." I told him, my worry peaked.

"Better you just read it." He said.

"Read what?"

In reply, he handed me a letter, then sunk into the chair next to me. The paper felt like silk under my fingers, and I luxuriated in the feeling for a second, wanting to withhold the bad news for as long as possible. Taking a deep breath, I flipped the letter over, and what I saw stopped me in my tracks. For staring up at me, was the Dragomir seal.


So I hope you enjoyed this chapter, if you are reading can you please review, because I want to know what you think, and if I should continue this. Because I'm unsure if people are still ready this. I hope you all have a lovely day.