My heart pounds. My palms sweat.

Okay, so maybe it's not that big of a deal. But the fact that I didn't inform her about this, and I hadn't consulted her for approval or something like that. I look up at Vivian who gives me a comforting smile.

"Is everything okay, Rose?" Vivian asks, noticing the look on my face. I don't know what I look like. Scared? Nervous? Anxious?

"Um, yeah. I think so," I say. "I think I'm gonna deal with this in my room."

I don't wait a second for Vivian's answer. Instead, I turn on my heel and run towards the living. I climb the stairs at an amazing speed, and am in my bedroom in just seconds. I kick the door shut behind me with my foot, and collapse on to the soft comforter of my bed. I stare at the creme colored envelope, the scent of dust filling my senses. It must have spent a lot of time in the back of a UPS truck or something.

Okay, Rose. You can do this. I give myself a little pep talk. It can't be that bad, right? So what if I didn't tell the woman who gave birth to me about suddenly leaving St. Vladimir's and taking over as a guardian for a royal family?

And with that, all my courage disappears.

You have to do this.

I can't sit around forever and never open the letter. I mean, I'll have to. Otherwise I'll nag myself until I eventually open this. Besides, it's better if I get this over with now. Now, and not later.

"Come on, Rose," I whisper to myself. "Just do it."

With one more deep breath, I rip open the envelope and pull out the letter. The words scribbled on the same creme-colored paper as the envelope are big and cursive, and very sturdy. No sign whatsoever that this was rushed or anything. Maybe Janine took writing lessons.

Rose,

Heard about your new charge. I'm proud of you. Don't mess up.

Yours,

Janine Hathaway

Well, I think to myself. That's not as bad as I thought it would be. . .

I reread the letter six more times before letting it fall into my lap. The letter, the writing, everything about it shows that it was definitely written by Janine. Not that I have any doubt, mind you.

I'm proud of you.

Those. Those are the words that surprise me the most. Not the fact that my mother actually took the time out of her day to write me a 'short but sweet' letter, but that she actually gave me a compliment. I mean, it totally takes me by surprise that she said such a thing. Maybe Janine isn't half as bad as I thought she was.

Maybe our relationship was becoming a little bit better.

I folded up the small piece of paper and put it neatly into my back pocket. It feels good just knowing that I got a little praise from Janine. Also, it feels like I'm carrying a little piece of home with me.

Home. What was home. Or where exactly did I call home. St. Vladimir's, maybe, but it was more than that. My home was where Lissa was. Lissa, Adrian, Eddie, and even the little cramp in my side that we all liked to call. . . Christian. And there's many more people that are home. Mia, Janine, and whoever else I care about. Though. . . it really just makes me realize how homesick I really am.

I lean back on my pillows and stare up at the high ceiling. I force myself to focus, to concentrate. And sure enough, I slip into Lissa's mind in a time of six seconds.

Surprisingly, Adrian, Lissa, and Christian are sitting in a room with all the other St. Vladimir students. Moroi and dhampir alike. I wish that Lissa would look around so I could get a better look at things, but she's focused on the front of her. In the huge room, all chairs point towards front of the room, where an raised platform stands.

What the heck is going on?

Headmistress Kirova appears a few minutes later, and I fear that whatever she has to say, won't be good. Through our bond, I can tell Lissa is feeling the same thing.

Kirova raises her hands. "Students, students! Quiet, please."

The room settles down, the academy students all anxiously awaiting for whatever Kirova has to say, good or bad. Wait, I think to myself, realizing something. From Lissa's seat, all I can see are students. Why the heck is Adrian there!?

"What's going on?" An unfamiliar voice shouts from behind Lissa, somewhere. Other voices join in, yelling for answers.

In the small chaos that is erupting in the room, Kirova is the sign of calmness and peace. Wow, never thought I'd see that.

"Please, settle down," Kirova says. The room is huge, yet she doesn't yell; she talks in her ordinary voice, but it echoes just loud enough for everyone to hear. "You were called here, a meeting, to discuss some very important matters."

"Like what!" A voice yells at Kirova, making another round of shouting flare up. Lissa and I share the same frustration over the yelling. All I want to know is what in the world is going on. Same with Lissa.

Kirova clears her throat. "As we know, St. Vladimir's is highly protected. Wards, guardians, and gates surrounding the academy. There's no need to be alarmed, but there was a Strigoi attack a few miles away from the school."

Lissa's hand squeezes Christian's, and they both tighten their grip. She has no idea what to feel. Confusion. Fear. Frustration. It all comes rushing to her at once.

"No need to worry, students," Kirova says with a calming smile on her face. "There have been no sign of the Strigoi since two nights ago. Our sources are positive that the Strigoi are not heading in our direction. But just to be safe, the academy will be taking security measures."

"Strigoi so close to the academy?" Lissa leans in towards Christian, a desperation to keep the fear out of her voice. "How are they sure their not heading here?"

Christian shakes his head, his dark hair falling over his eyes. "I have no idea."

"From now on, there will be no leaving the academy grounds. Also, please travel in small groups. No one should be alone until we're positive that the Strigoi are. . ." Kirova gulps, looking for the right words. ". . . Gone. Also, we'll be doubling the number of guardians in the dorm rooms, so you will always be safe and have a guardian nearby in case of emergency."

Before any chaos or mobs can flare up, Kirova adds, "you're excused."

The students pile out of the meeting hall, Lissa tightly gripping Christian's hand as he leads her out of the building. She spares a glance behind her, happy to see that Adrian is following them with a lazy smile on his lips. The trio make it out of the building without being trampled or stomped on, which I guess is a good sign.

That's when the shouting begins.

Moroi and dhampirs argue and yell, everyone having their own opinions. Lissa immediately tenses up, and walks even faster to the outskirts of the chaotic crowds. She leads Christian and Adrian a little further out of the way, and then they start walking towards her dorm.

"This is absurd!" Lissa blurts out, spinning around to face Christian.

"Lissa, it's-" Christian starts to say, but she cuts him off.

"What happens if the Strigoi plan on attacking us?" Lissa asks him, a lump forming in her throat. "What are we going to do then?"

"We could fight," Adrian offers, sticking a cigarette in his mouth. It's obvious he's been drinking.

"Not helping," Christian says to Adrian. He then turns to Lissa and says, "we'll figure out something, Liss."

"Like what?" She asks him. All she wants is an answer. One simple answer from someone she trusts. That's all.

Christian opens his mouth as if to say something, but soon realizes. . . what is there to say? "I don't know, Lissa."

"Ugh. I wish Rose was here."

I do too, Lissa. Trust me, I do too. . .

For a minute, everything is quiet. It's as if Lissa had heard me and we were sharing a moment through the bond. I want to be there, to comfort her and tell her I was here for her. I could tell her a plan to protect her and everyone else. I would do something, anything, to be there and be able to tell her she'll be okay.

"Look," Christian says. "The best we can do is wait and find out some more news."

"But we can't just sit around and do nothing!" I'm surprised Lissa actually says something like that. It makes me proud of her in so many ways.

Christian sighs. "Rose is rubbing off on you."

"So?"

"That's never good."

"Hey!" Lissa playfully shoves Christian's shoulder. He laughs and pulls her in to a hug.

"We're gonna be okay, Liss." He says, tracing patterns on her small bone. "I promise. I'll protect you."

"Okay." Lissa says, and a small part of her believes he will. Actually, every part of her believes him. If I can't protect her, then he will. It reminds me of the short exchange I had had with him before I left.

Take care of Lissa for me. I had said. Here was his chance, and I gave all my trust into the Ozera boy to take care of my best friend, my sister almost.

Rose, I don't know what to do. I wish you were here to tell me.

It's as if she knows I'm watching her, seeing through her eyes because of the bond. The stupid one-way bond ruined me to send her anything back telepathic. For once, I'm actually regretting the decision to come here.

"I don't like this one bit," says Lissa, chewing on her bottom lip. "But, I guess we can't really do anything now."

Christian pulls a piece of her golden hair out of her face, putting it neatly behind her ear, then running his fingers down her cheek. "It'll be okay, Lissa."

Lissa nods and says, "I know. Maybe we-"

I'm immediately pulled out from Lissa's mind and back into my own. It feels weird, being in my body. Everything I just experienced doesn't seem real, like it was all a dream. A Strigoi attack near the academy? How could that be real? I think for a long, hard time until I realize someone is yelling at me.

"Rose! C'mon, wake up!" I come out of my daze and look the person in front of me straight in the eyes. Those gorgeous, er - nice-looking viridian eyes.

"J-Julius?" I mumble, my mind a complete and utter mess.

"Oh thank God, Rose." Julius collapses backwards, falling on his knees. "You. . . you scared me there for a minute."

"You were worried about me?" I ask, disbelief in my voice.

Julius looks up and runs his hands through his dark brown hair. "Who wouldn't?"

I don't think about it much. Only that a boy I met two days ago is worried about me. . . Then again, wouldn't any person be worried if some girl went into a complete dream-like daze? I wonder how long he's been sitting there, staring at me, yelling my name. . .

"How long were you doing that?" I ask.

Julius shrugs and replies, "ten minutes, maybe?"

I nod. Then something else strikes me. "Er, did you walk into my room without knocking?"

"I knocked!" Julius says a little too defensively. "No one answered."

I feel a smile creep up on my face. "So you just walked in here?"

"I guess."

"Boys." I scoff. "Such perverts."

"Hey!" Julius stands, and points a finger at me. "I was making sure you were okay. . . Are you okay?"

I stand and look up at Julius; he's much taller than me. "I'm fine, Julius. Thank you."

We stand there and stare at each other for a minute.

"What do you need?" I ask.

"Huh?" Julius stares at me, as if making sure that I really am fine.

"You knocked, so that means you probably need something."

Julius furrows his eyebrows, realizing he had come here for a reason, I think. "Oh, uh, yeah."

"So?"

"So what?"

"What do you need?"

"Oh," Julius takes a deep breath. "Uh, never mind, Rosemarie. I'll, uh, talk to you later."

Julius leaves a few seconds later; I stare at his back as he shuts the door behind him. Okay, so I'm sure about two things. One, something is wrong at the academy. Something that I'm not there for. And two, Julius had wanted to say something that made him run scared. It was inevitable. Something was definitely wrong with Julius. But I can't worry about that. I promised myself I would avoid Julius.

Jack grabs me and flings me on the floor, my back slamming into the polished hardwood floor. I groan, shots of pain running down my spine. I haul myself off the floor.

"Again," I say to Jack, readying my fists for the next fight.

Jack smiles, obviously approving of my determination. "You don't give up easily, do you, Rose?"

I shake my head, scowling at the loosened hair that falls into my face. "Never in my lifetime, Jack. I won't go down without a fight."

"Never?" Jack raises an eyebrow.

"Never," I confirm.

Jack shrugs and replies with, "okay, let's go again."

I ready myself again, letting the anger that I'm not with Lissa fuel me. The confusion over Julius, too. I watch Jack, but it's over he's not going to make the first move. He's waiting. Waiting for me to lunge towards him. Of course, that's what I do during fights, so I move to the left and Jack moves to the right. I take another step, watching Jack start to move away from me again, and I go to my right instead and lunge at him. I grip the collar of his shirt and flip him over on the mat.

He jumps up, shoving me back with only one of his hands while he gets a good grip on his stake (fake, of course). I stare at him with vicious eyes, waiting for him to make the next move. Every move he makes I watch closely, registering that he's a fighter. And a good one at it.

"Go, Rosie!" Alexis screams from the other side of the room. I turn and give her a tight-lipped smile. Jack grabs me and shoves me to the floor.

Crap! I think to myself, the palms of my hand smacking into the wood, my stake flying to the other side of the room.

I focus on Jack, on pushing him off. I use all my power, my strength, to push him off. I jump up and stumble a little, little black spots in my vision. Wow, he really pushes me. I shake myself and dive for my fake stake. As I roll over on the floor, Jack lunges towards me, flopping on the floor where I just was. I roll back over on top of him and hold the stake to his throat.

I huff and puff, my body complaining. "How was that?" I ask, pride in myself.

"You did good, Hathaway. I'll admit that." says Jack.

I stand up from Jack and walk over to where Henry and Alexis sit cross-legged on the floor. Henry raises his hand and I high five him.

"Point for Rose!" I yell out, a big smile on my face.

"I'll be doing that one day," Henry says dreamily. "You'll see."

I pat Henry's head and wink at him when he looks up at me. "Keep at it, Henry."

He smiles at me. "I will, Rose." He salutes to me.

I give Henry my fake stake, and turn to face Jack. "Let's take a little break. That okay?"

"Yeah, fine." Jack's voice is dry, and his face resembles a red Asian tomato. Wait, is that even a real thing?

I walk over to the bench and grab my water bottle, chugging down the liquid as much as I can at a time. God, that tastes so good.

"What's going on in here?" I glance over at the door, seeing a familiar face looming over me.

"We're play-fighting, Julie." I laugh out loud at Alexis' nickname for Julius. I look at him just in time to see a blush rising in his cheeks.

"Play-fighting," Jack says, trying the word out on his tongue. "Huh, that's a way to put it."

I roll my eyes and say to Julius, "Jack and I are training. You know, guardian stuff."

"Pfft." Julius waves his hand at me. "Guardian stuff? Anybody could fight."

"Oh, really?" I prop my hands on my hips. "Would you care to explain that 'anybody can fight'?"

"What?" Julius shrugs. "I mean, I could take on one of you any day of the week."

I scoff. "Fine. If you think so, you'll go against Jack here. Just don't get a big head, because when you lose you'll come crying to me."

"Whatever, Rosemarie." Julius walks over to the middle of the room where Jack awaits. I sit down on the floor beside Henry and Alexis.

"Go, Julie!" Alexis chants. Henry joins in, and soon I do. We're all chanting for 'Julie' to win.

"Ready, set, go." I yell, and Julius grabs for Jack. Jack gracefully jumps out of the way, grabs Julius by the shoulders, and flips him all the way over. Julius flops to the ground, motionless. I stand up and walk over to him, standing over his face. He looks up at me and exhales deeply.

"F.Y.I, it's Thursday," I say to him. "Guess not every day."

Julius growls and, expectantly, grabs me and throws me to the ground. I burst into laughter, rolling over so I'm laughing into his shoulder.

"See," Julius motions to me and him. "I'm not that bad."

I nod. "Okay, okay. Whatever, but if I were a Strigoi, this wouldn't end well. Strigoi don't laugh."

Julius rolls on to his knees so he's looming over me. "You're good, Rosemarie. Very good."

I realize the position we're in. Him sitting over me, me gazing up at him, a big, silly grin on my face. I clear my throat and sit up, tucking my feet under me. When I think about what just happened, I don't think awkward. I don't know what I feel, really. I can only focus on the closeness of our bodies, how warmth radiates off him. The scent of his cologne that smells like dark chocolate fills my senses; his eye gazing down at me. I immediately move once I realize what I had thought just seconds ago, and Julius stands.

"Well," he says, "this was fun."

No one, not even I, have a chance to answer before he stalks out of the room. Strange, I think. Te

"What's wrong with Julius?" Henry asks, perplexed.

"Uh," I wonder myself what's wrong. Was he thinking the same thing as I was? The closeness, the scent, everything? I scold myself for thinking such things, and once again I want to slap myself for breaking my swear. . . again. Would I ever learn to stay away from Julius, like I had promised myself? "His, er, man pride is hurting. . . ?"

What did I just say?

Henry seems to agree. Of course, I turn to look at Jack who's just studying me.

I glare at him and say, "I'm not a test subject, you know. Stop staring at me!"

"Let's get back to work, Hathaway," says Jack, walking out of the room like Julius did. I let out a low growl, and run out of the room myself. I head for the only place I know I can be alone in. My bedroom.

I walk down the hall, glancing at the closed doors that lead to the library, and climb the stairs - not as fast as when my mother had sent me a letter. My room is untouched, like always, and I stare at the bed where I was sitting, where Julius had found me staring off into space.

Enough, Rose, I scold myself, and rush into the bathroom, turning the shower nozzle on and cleansing myself with the four different showerheads. Once I'm out, I dress in sweat pants and a maroon tank top and climb into bed, my body collapsing on to the soft mattress. Though my body may seem tired, my mind is wide awake. The wheels in my head turning so much that I wish I could just shut myself down. I think about Lissa and all my friends at the academy, Strigoi closing in on them, maybe. I think about how weird it is that I'm always running into Julius. I think about the strange, but undeniable, attraction I may or may not have with him.

Lastly, I think about Dimitri.

Dimitri, someone I had loved so much, and had run off with someone else. It's been a while since I've thought about the gorgeous Russian god. It's funny how easily I'm forgetting things here, too tied up in my business - and drama - to think about that. But it's inevitable to that I'll think about Dimitri, the love of my life who may still be, and to think of Julius, who I met only a few days ago and I already feel close to him.

Questions, doubts, all things I can't avoid. I can't ignore my feelings forever. It'll come back to haunt me if I do. So much to think about. My lingering love for Dimitri, the loss of Mason, the oncoming Strigoi at St. Vladimiri's, and Julius, who I'm having a lot of inner turmoil thinking about. Ugh, what do I do? I complain to myself as I roll over on to my stomach and drop my face into the firm pillow. My wet hair falls around me, stringy and a mess of brunette.

Surprisingly, I find myself starting to drift off, despite the state of mind I'm in.

I eventually fall asleep, but soon see the shimmering of my dreamless sleep turn into a Spirit-induced dream. I almost yell out in frustration. I mean, can't I just sleep, but then a thought pops into my head. A spirit dream means-

"-Adrian!"