Hey everyone. I bet I threw you all off last chapter! Woot woot! Score for me! I wanted to update yesterday, but I got was too tired to keep writing. I cannot stand it when I update such short chapters, so I had to add more on to it.

I want to thank Delicious and Loren-Nicole for their support and the two annoymus viewers as well as the rest of you guys who update and tell me what you think. You guys truly have no idea how much it means to me as a writer to have such long and appreciative feeback. I also don't mind constructive criticism.

I never liked being bribed, and having Dimitri down on one knee with a diamond ring in the palm of his right hand…well, I call that bribery. Seriously, what kind of woman can possibly say no to him?

My eyes widened in complete shock! Not just shock, but complete shock.

"Rose," he paused and my eyes flew from the ring to his face. His eyes scanned my face, taking in my expression, and when he spoke, it was gentle and full of love. "I have never loved anyone as much as I do you. There has always been more to you than others realize. You are stubborn, wise, smart, strong, selfless, caring and incredibly beautiful in your heart and soul. Your faith never wavers and it is contagious. You went beyond what anyone would do to save me, and succeeded. The more time I spend with you, the more I want to be with you. I want to be with you, Rose. And if you let me, I swear I will love you for as long as I live. If something happens, I will stand by you, no matter if it is your fault or not. I will be your defender, your protector and your lover. No one will ever love you as much as I do."

I was defiantly experiencing cardiac arrest. My heart was heavy; it felt like it was going to explode with happiness and shock. I never expected Dimitri to purpose to me. I knew we would be together in the future, but to be married?

My breath came shallow, so I stopped breathing and I felt tears brim my eyes. "Dimitri," I paused for a moment and cupped his face in my hands, swallowing back tears before they came out. His eyes never left my gaze and I could see him visibly swallowed. I could see how much he wanted to be with me. It was so obvious. His heart was in his eyes, and I could see his love for me in his eyes.

"You really want me?" My voice felt small, and my throat felt swollen.

He didn't stand up, he stayed on one knee and never moved. Him just staying on one knee told me that he was real, this was real, and that he truly wanted me.

But should I say yes? After everything that he had said to me and doubted about me? Does he deserve me to say yes? He had told me to get lost and had given his loyalty to Lissa. He believed only her instead of the one person he claims to love-me.

The answer was no, not right now. I wanted so much to say yes and run into his arms like I always have, but not now. He finally got the courage to found the truth and got it. He finally gave back his loyalty to me, but that should never had left. If he truly loved me, it wouldn't of left. He claims that it has always been there, but I wasn't so sure.

He needs to prove it to me before I say yes.

"I love you, so much." He gave me one of his rare smiles, which only pierced my heart with what I was about to say. I knew it was a punch in the face, and I couldn't believe I was about to hurt him. I felt horrible and ugly inside, but Dimitri needs to know that I need to have him completely. I need to know for sure that he is with me- no second thoughts. I need to know that he will always trust me, no matter what.

Most importantly, he has to learn that what his actions and words say hurt.

He's a man Rose. I told myself. Get it over with. Rip it off like a band-aid.

So I continued without any pauses. "We have been through a lot, and I want to be with you, but" when is said that last word, his face fell and I could feel my heart crack, "I don't know if you truly trust me. I know you that you are aware that I was the one who saved you, but how do I know that you won't run to Lissa? It's like she brainwashed you, because you never trusted me. And that hurt so much."

He stood up with a hurt expression, and I have never seen hurt on Dimitri's face. I have seen joy, awe, rueful, love and anger on his face, but never have I seen hurt. And it killed me.

"I love you, Dimitri, but before I give you an answer I need to be positive a few things first. I need to know that you trust me, and that I can trust you."

He gazed at me and nodded. He turned and as he turned, my heart became heavy with guilt- so heavy it was like someone poured 100 gallons of cement in it.

"Dimitri!" I yelled after him. My voice sounded desperate and rueful.

He was walking through the door when I called. He turned is whole body to face me, giving me his undivided attention; his eyes had on an intense determination look, and that look excited me and brought hope that he wasn't going to run off any times soon. "I will prove it Roza. I want to be with you. And if it takes time for you to see that I trust you and that you can trust me, then I will wait."

"Dimka?"

Tahsa. I thought acidly. I wanted to set her on fire for just interrupting a semi beautiful moment. That ugly green monster called Jealousy came back, and it came back strong like a cancer cell. I wanted to rip her hair out piece by piece, yank her teeth out, tooth by tooth. I hated it when she was making moves on my man, and right now with her knowing that Dimitri is mine…. Uh, I so hate her.

To top that all off, she was dressed to seduce. She had on a knee-length satin blue dress, that makes her eyes pop. The dress was a very low V; her hair was up in a messy, yet sexy, bun that had glitter and diamond clips in her hair. Was there a royal party going on earlier?

Dimitri's eyes were still on me, but he spoke to her. "Yeah, I was just leaving."

I flinched. What the fuck does that mean? Were they planning on going out for fucking lunch? Dimitri never took me out for lunch just for the hell of it!

Tasha came into sight and the moment I saw her, my death glare slipped into place. Dimitri looked at me in surprise and then shook his head. I must have looked like that very pissed off seventeen year old girl that he met two years ago. I wouldn't be surprised, because I suddenly felt seventeen again.

"I will see you later, Rose." Dimitri said in English.

"Никакое дерьмо! (No shit- sounds like: neco cazermo (roll the 'r')" I said in Russian, "we have a lot to talk about."

He let out an exasperated sigh. "You clearly have the wrong idea. Tasha and I will explain everything later, right now we need to be setting things up for the attack."

And just like that, my jealousy was forgotten as I remembered that hundreds of lives were at stakes.

"Are they putting up the C4 as I suggested?" I asked in English.

Tasha snorted. "That shits expensive. No one will be using that."

I turned my full force death glare on her and she stepped back and hid behind Dimitri. I snorted inside, typical moroi- hide behind a dhampire.

"No one asked a moroi's opinion." I spat the word moroi like it was a swear word and Tasha had the guts to glare at me. The bitch will learn to have a neutral face on around me. I was beginning to realize that I might have something against the moroi. Oh, that's right I do, because of the age law. Now I remember!

"Rose." Dimitri said in warning tone.

"Don't Rose me, Dimitri Belikov!" I said in Russian. "You know it's true. They have no idea what is at stake here. My family, their families, and most importantly innocent lives! If they didn't get the C4, then they better have come up with a damn good plan, because if they didn't I am out of here." When I said that, Dimitri's eyes widened slightly in shock. And yeah, I was shocked that I said that too.

And okay, that was a bit extreme. I wouldn't turn by backs on them, but they were attempting suicide by not having the most extreme amount of protection! If they think that there will only be a couple strigoi, they are horribly mistaken.

That was it for coolness. I practically ran Tasha over on my way out of the door in fury. As I walked away, I barely caught what Tasha said to Dimitri. "What is that girl going to do now?" If I wasn't mistaken, I swore there was a smile to her tone; a smile of admiration.

I ran to the guardian building that was halfway across Court. I needed to get a closer hotel room.

"Rose, what is going on?" Gabe said. I was startled to see him. I didn't even know he was around me.
"идиоты (Morons- sounds like: isyol-tay " I yelled in Russian. "The guardians are outnumbered and are not willing to think of using force. We will die if we don't have the proper force." Gabe quickly caught on to what I meant.

"Don't worry сестра (sister), we will get it." I turned and looked into his brown eyes, and they were a balm for me. It made me feel as if everything will turn out okay, but in order to do that, I need to take action…or someone else does.

I sighed. "We just need to get this straightened out. I thought they would have had this already taken care of."

He regarded me with surprise. "Guardians are fast Rose, but not that fast."

"Then I guess they need to pick up the pace! Strigoi are smart too, that is what everyone doesn't recognize. Sometimes we forget that they were once normal and smart. We forget that they carry those traits when they awakened. For god sakes, people need to listen and stop screwing around! " I growled.

"Dimitri." He guessed, being germane.

"He is not relevant right now."

"I am your brother, Rose. He lays one finger on you-"

I had a smile on my face. "No. Dimitri would never hit me…well, that is when it came to his personal life. Training is another thing." And it was.

He nodded, agreeing with me. "We will talk about this later."He had on his guardian face that he was so good at.

"Agreed, right now we need to get the others and prepare for a fight with the Council."

He nodded again. "Yes, they have gone too far this time. First the Decree, and now this," Gabe shook his head. "What are we to do when the decision is final and they do not take immidate force as you had strongly recommended?"

I wanted to stop walking and look at him, but I couldn't. Time was short and we needed to get their fast. Instead, I settled with turning my head and looking at Gabe while we practically ran to the building.

"It depends on what you guys want to do."

He looked back at me and his brown eyes showed understanding, but they were curious as well. "What do you think we should do?"

With my next answer, I hated myself, but I couldn't lose them. "We run."

He was the one who stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me as if I had three eyes and legs. "What? You want to abandon these people?"

"No, of course not."

"Then why do you want us to run? If it is so bad, then we need to stay, Rose. We have to help those in need. Lissa would be in great need, so would the Queen along with many innocent moroi families. I don't want innocent children to feel unprotected."

I looked away from Gabe. "I don't know what we will do Gabe, but I will will make sure that you guys are safe. I won't let my family die because of some ignorant and selfish dhampire. You guys come first to me, and by God, I will protect you guys. You are all I have and I am going to protect you and the rest of the gang." I started walking again towards the building. We have to get here quickly. Time is critical now. The longer the wait, the more vulnerable we are to the strigoi who could attack at any time.

I couldn't completely understand what Gabe's facial expression was. He looked awed, touched, understanding, but what really caught my attention was disappointment. "Rose, we are all untied under one thing, remember: protect the moroi and those in need. Remember that girl, Rose. She was the one who held the power. Don't tell me you are losing sight of that because of your feelings."

"Our feelings are important too."

Out of the corner of my eye, Gabe's face softened a little bit. "I love you to Rose."

I felt the corners of my lips tug into an-almost-smile. The building wasn't any different than any other building in court. It had stones on the siding and a grand entrance door that looked like some seriously expensive wood. We stepped up onto the white cream marble steps and floor. I was just about to open the door when someone yelled out my name.

"Hathaway!" Hans called my name a hundred yards away. It is good to hear that some things never change…even though he was talking to me with respect yesterday. Hans had workout clothes on, not to mention that he was sweating. A lot. What was the guy doing?

With let go of the door handle and turned to face Hans. "Yes." I acknowledge that I existed.

"Did you hear the news?" He came up to us then.

I looked at Gabe and he had on a very confused face. I translated.

"Your boy doesn't speak English?" Hans asked in a disapproving voice.

I shook my head. "Mind speaking in Russian?"

He shook his head and told Gabe what he was telling me, even though there was no need. Gabe nodded.

"What is the verdict?"

Hans clenched his teeth together and balled is hands into fists at his side. "They decided to just make the Court go down into lockdown."

I threw my hands up and looked at Gabe. "This is what I was talking about!"

"Rose…it gets worse."

I scowled. "I bet. What else is it?"

"They decided that they should put up wards around every building."

I looked at him in horror. Excuse me! "Are they fucking crazy!" I looked at Hans, and be seemed just as pissed off about this as I was. "They are sitting ducks!" I looked at Gabe and he looked shocked.

"Who decided this?"

"I will tell you this, it wasn't the Guardian Council."

I was confused and some of the anger I felt turned into fear. "Then who was it? If it wasn't the guardians, then who could have passed this?" Because I needed to kick whoever's ass that passed this stupid thing.

"I have no clue, but my guess, it was the moroi."

I doubted that. "I don't think so. Guardians are the experienced ones, and the moroi would never be involved in this kind of propagation."

"Rose…" Gabe said tentatively, drawing my attention. I looked at him, and he seemed reluctant and unsure. "I have a hunch, but I don't think you or anyone will really believe it."

"Just lay it out on the table, son. We don't have much time or theories."

Gabe looked at me for permission. I shrugged and he straightened out his spin.

"Humans and strigoi could have found out about spirit. The humans worship strigoi and would do anything they asked. They must have found a spirit user and compelled or threatened them and had them charm something so that the humans or strigoi can come Court and make the guardian council make the verdict what they wanted."

When Gabe was finished, I felt sick. Could it be true? Could that explain why the council said that with no objections? I was sure that the council was smarter than that. To go down into lockdown when there is war upon us is absolutely suicide.

Could it also explain why I keep having the feeling that someone was watching me? But how could it? When my training session was over with, I saw no one, yet I felt their gaze on me.

Hans looked at me. "You're taking his word seriously?"

I looked at Hans hard, showing him that I am serious. "Yes, and so should you. Gabe never jokes when it comes to someone's safety. He is a very good observer and thinks several motives and thinks of ways that they could have accomplished this."

I could see Hans not really wanting to take what Gabe said for granted, but as a guardian, he has to.

"Rose!" Denis shouted from the door. Denis looked irritated. "I take it you heard." Denis said in Russian.

I gave him one hard nod. "Gabe and I just found out. We were just going over on how this could have happened."

"Come in. We don't need everyone to hear this."

"Rose."Adrain called out. UH! Am I on America's most wanted or something?

I turned around with a huge scowel on my face to see Dimitri, Tasha, Christain, Lissa, Adrian, Eddie, and Mia.

Adrian frowned. "I take it you heard about the verdict too."

I practically growled. "сын сук! (Son of a bitches!) Are they fucking crazy!" I then switched to English. "You bet your ass I heard about it!" I snapped. "Who the hell passed this?"

"We don't know, but we will find out."

I turned on my heels. I was done talking and I needed to take action. The more time that waited, the more the strigoi had the advantage. I wasn't going to give them that opertunity.

"She is pissed." I heard Eddie whisper. Damn right I am pissed about this. No way am I going to put my family on the line for some stupid operation that will go wrong.

I walked inside and went straight to the front desk.

The woman there was a dhampire, no surprise. She was blond with brown eyes. She smiled at me, but when she saw my furious face, she had trouble staying where she was.

"Hello guardian Hatha-"

"Gideon, now." That was all I could say, and I barked it at her. Gabe put his hand on my shoulder, and I relaxed slightly, but I was still tense and will be until I had this mess all straightened out.

She nodded, not phoned his office. "There is someone here who would like to speak to you." She paused. "No, and I would take this into your office sir, I wouldn't come out here." Another pause. "Yes." Another. "Of course I will hold your calls." Pause. "I will send her in." And she hug up.

"Does he know who is here?"

She nodded. "He was hoping you would stop by. If you weren't, he was going to come to you."

Okay. I just realized that I was blaming this mess on him, which was stupid. Gideon isn't the president of the Guardian Council. He had a strong voice, but he wasn't that strong. Maybe he had an idea who did this.

"Gabe, come with me."

"we want to come too."

"I am sorry, but Guardian Kingston will only see Rose."

"Then he will see Gabe and Denis as well. Denis is my beta and Gabe is my associate."

Before she could say anything else, Gabe, Denis and I walked to his office. It wasn't hard to find, he had his name tag on his steal black door. Gabe and Denis walked on the outside, with me in the middle. I felt dangerous again, and I liked it.

I knocked and opened the door, not bothering with waiting for a reply.

Gideon was sitting at his desk. The room was small with light gray carpeting and cherry wood desk. He had a big leather black chair, that had silver metal arms and legs. He had two chairs on the othe side of the desk that were for visitors or clients. On Gideon's desk, was 50" Apple computer- even more amazing, it was a touch! Lucky. He had two 4' by 2" black file cabinets near a big multicolored stained glass window. His hand were folded together and watched us all walk in. He didn't seem one bit supreised that I didn't come alone. I would say he was expecting me to come with someone.

"We have much to talk about, Guardian Hathaway."

I nodded. I was a little bit shocked that he addressed me with my title. The respect that he lost the day I met him was creeping back up.

Denis and I sat down in the chairs that were next to Gideon's desk, while Gabe took a step back and leaned against the wall with his arms across his chest.

"Do you speak Russian, guardian Kingston?"

"No."

I looked at Denis. Denis shook his head. "Bring Dimitri in, Gabril won't understand what will be said. We will tell him later."

"Gabe, go get Dimitri and bring him in here. You stay with the others." Denis said.

Gabe nodded and walked out. Not even a minute later Dimitri came in.

"I'm listening." I said as Dimitri stood beside me. He had on his guardian face, but when he looked down at me I saw that his eyes were kind and forgiving.

He knew why I had done and said the things I did earlier.

It was a good thing his will isn't shaken so easily.

Please understand why Rose said no to Dimitri. Rose has changed, and she needs to take things more seriously with Dimitri as a lover. She needs to have faith in him, and she lost it when Dimitri stopped trusting her.

So, how do you think Dimitri is going to show her that he trusts her? Who do you think made the verdict, or do you think Gabe is right? What about Tasha? Is she out to steal Dimitri? When do you think war will occur? Will they be ready in time?