Dimitri's POV

As Rose walked through the door I couldn't help but notice the small cart she wheeled along with her which held a cylindrical tank. A small clear tube looped out from it to encircle her head to feed whatever was in the tank into her nostrils.

When I was younger I had grown up amongst a number of young human children and there was one small boy who had always been considered the runt of the kids. With a pale pallor and thin sickly features he also wheeled a tank around with him, just as Rose. I only ever got to see him during the holidays from school but when I did he slowly got even more ill. He spent weeks in the hospital at a time and his bones became brittle and broke on a regular basis which meant I wasn't able to practice sparring with him – but I had the other kids to do that with. No, instead I shared my love of Western novels with the boy and I could remember my mother organising 'play dates' with him where she would pull down a number of her novels for us to read.

When I was in grade five though, I took two weeks from school to spend at the bedside of the boy. He was in his last lap and we all knew he wouldn't make it so I sat there for hours at a time, reading him the novels that he no longer had the strength to both read and comprehend. That was when the boy passed away and I could clearly remember sitting there in shock as I dropped the book to the floor and crawled up beside the boy. I didn't cry – I didn't make a single sound until our parents walked in half an hour later, chatting with coffee in their hands when they caught sight of the two of us. Basically, I continued to read these books for him, just as I would for the rest of my life.

When Rose sat before Kirova I could see the nerves playing across her face as she took in the people present and her face seemed to grow impossibly pale as her eyes landed on me. She was the one sitting there, probably struggling to breathe, and yet her number one worry was that I was present? I had to hand it to her – even with what is happening to my Roza, she still held her all-too famous Rose Hathaway style.

When Kirova was finished addressing the numerous new rules of her lifestyle for now on, I took that as my gateway to get Rose alone. However, as I pushed myself off of the wall which I had been stationed at for the entire time – Rose took one look at me and tensed as if I were a hungry animal stalking its prey, or worse – a hungry Strigoi…. She threw herself from the chair and, with the small oxygen tank in hand, ran from the room leaving us all questioning ourselves.

Her mother was the first to move as she slowly sat in the chair which her daughter had been in just moments before, clutching her hands to her chest. I knew that position like I knew the back of my hand as I had seen my own mother mirror such every time my 'father' had come to visit. So, naturally, I hated seeing such pain and felt the urgency to comfort her. However, as I walked timidly to her side she simply waved her hand to me before whispering:

"Go and find my daughter, Belikov. Do not let her get hurt…" She trailed off as I tightened my lips at the thought of my dear Roza getting hurt, and left the room. Walking swiftly through the halls I kept my eyes peeled for any sign of my long brown haired beauty.

"Well I'll se you later then!" I heard the Dragomir princess yell at the top of her lungs, in the direction of the cafeteria. I knew that she and Roza were practically inseparable and not to mention shadow kissed so the chances of her screaming to Rose and not some average Joe was 100 to 1.

On a split decision I turn in the direction of the princess' voice where I found her slouched against the Ozera boy with a look of disappointment and sorrow across her face. Coming to an abrupt halt in front of the pair, I could vaguely see Eddie Castille wondering back inside of the building at a slow and aimless pace.

"Princess, you wouldn't have seen Hathaway around here today?" I ask as I place a hand to the wall to rest and catch my breath. The couple before me exchanged nervous glances before the Princess let out a long sigh and reluctantly looked back up at me once again.

"She just passed by – seemed like she was in a bit of a hurry to get out of here. In all honesty I actually thought that she was late for a practice session with you…" Her voice grew quiet as she trailed off, glancing towards the direction of the woods. I zeroed my gaze in on the fringe of trees and nodded quickly to the pair and began walking in the direction.

"Oh! And Guardian Belikov, she didn't seem that great when I saw her so please – just make sure she is ok?" The Dragomir princess pleaded as the Ozera boy led her back inside after the Castille novice.

As I neared the tree's edges I could see a number of bushes and shrubs had been pushed down and to the side as if they were forcefully pushed out of the way. Following through the path which I had to assume Rose had made, I neared a small clearing where there were multiple puddles of red liquid staining the snow… blood… Scattered around, half buried beneath the freshly fallen snow, I could see Rose's oxygen tank and breathing apparatus which had clearly been thrown away from her in frustration.

No, Roza… No…

Tearing my eyes away from the horrific scene before me I searched around the clearing for further clues as to where she could be. There were no more footprints due to the freshly fallen snow and no more bent back shrubs and bushes but… just beyond the clearing I could faintly make out a small wooden cabin – hidden away out of sight.

"Rose?" I yelled towards the cabin but all I was met with was the hollow silence of the academy's woods. Cautiously edging towards the wooden door I heard a scuffling from inside which was followed by an earth shattering scream of pain.

"ROSE!" I shouted as I threw my entire weight against the carved door which gave way as my shoulder made contact. Stumbling through the threshold, it only took a few seconds to scan the interior of the cabin before my eyes landed upon my Roza huddled up in s dark corner in front of a small fireplace which held the smouldering remains of a poorly lit fire.

A large puddle was surrounding her on the think wooden floorboards which I just assumed was snow however, as I inched closer and closer towards my love all that met my eyes was thick, scarlet blood flowing freely from her wrist and hands which also held a small rusty nail – now covered in blood.

"Rose? Oh my god, Roza?!" I exclaimed at the sight before me which Rose only lolled her head around on her shoulders to. She was barely conscious and her eyes were just empty of light and life as she met my gaze for a brief moment before passing out on the cold wooden floor.

Rushing to her side I whipped out my cell phone and hit the academy's speed dial before pulling Rose up into my arms as close as I could get.

"Guardian Belikov?" I heard an unfamiliar voice question across the line.

"I need a team of guardians and Dr Olendzki out at the East Senior campus visitor's cabin ASAP." I snapped as quickly as possible before hanging up and tossing the phone beside me. I could feel Rose's breathing becoming irregular as she gasped for oxygen in her sleeping state before her chest became still and motionless. I held my breath in anticipation of her next struggled gasp but her chest stayed motionless – no gasping and no movement.

"Rose?" I choked through my tightening throat as tears threatened to escape my eyes. I shook her once again and tapped her cheek repeatedly to get her to open her eyes and look at me…

"Roza?" I choked as I finally let the tears escape my eyes and fall on her cheeks where – had the situation been reversed, I could imagine tears falling from down her face.

"My Roza…"