Ok I am so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so sorry for not updating. Been really focused on my other fanfic. I know this one is my most popular I've been neglecting it. Here's the next chapter and guess what? She's meeting Dimitri J

-Jen.

Chapter 7

Rose

Rose stared blankly ahead, trying not to think too much. If she thought too much then she'd end up hightailing her butt out of there. She and André stood sat on a park bench, waiting for Lisa to come. Lisa, a girl Rose hadn't seen in years. A girl, who Rose chose to leave behind for her wellbeing. An approaching figure caught Rose's attention. Lisa wore a long gold gown. Her blond hair fell in wavy curls around her face. Halfway to them, Lisa stopped dead in her tracks. Rose and André stood and she focused her attention on the ground. In the next minute, tight arms wrapped around her waist. She stared wide-eyed at her old friend.

"Rose! Oh my gosh! I can't believe-André did you-Oh my gosh!" She swung Rose back and forth. Slowly, her arms came around Lisa.

"I found her in a bar." André said smiling.

"I-I've missed you so much Rose!" She finally released Rose and stood back to study her.

"You too Lis." She forced a small smile on her face. "You too."

Dimitri

Dimitri smiled and waved as the crowd swarmed both sides of the street. Ahead of him he could see his mom, waving queen-like to her citizens. They were all cheering and laughing. His guards flanked all sides of his carriage, ready for any threat to be coming their way. He was going to get out here. Once he was at the end of the parade and got off that was exactly what he was going to do. His guards knew he like freedom, but with Jeanine down there, it was going to be harder than earlier anticipated. Once they'd parked in front of the bank, he jumped down, ignoring the hand of his personal guard and started walking away. Five men would follow him around town. The best chance he had of hiding from them was in the crowds a little ways down the street. "Dimka be careful." His mother called from where she stood with her husband at her side. He nodded once before reaching the people. A few heads turned as he passed. He could hear the clinking of armor and knew the men were very close to him. He'd stuffed some plain clothes into a bag he had, which for all his mother knew contained some money. She hadn't asked, and he hadn't told her. The moment he believed he'd gotten far enough from his mother's guard he ducked so his head was no longer above the sea of people and snuck off.

Rose

She ate her food like it was nobody's business, which it wasn't, glancing every now and then at Lisa who had yet to stop talking. They were sitting in a small café with a view of the busy street. In fact, the restaurant had been so packed when they'd walked in, Rose had thought they'd be kicked out. But André had spoken something to the waiter and immediately was guided to the table. People had been sitting there but one look at a Royal and they'd dispersed quickly. Rose had felt bad for only a moment. Then she'd remembered she hadn't eaten more than scraps for the last-well- seven or so years. (I'm not in the mood to do math)

Rose took the last bite of her pasta and sat back, smiling to herself. "So where have you been living?" Lisa asked slowly wondering if it was an uncomfortable topic of choice. The old abandoned house she'd taken as a home had collapsed a little over four years ago. A body had been found, but had been unrecognizable. Rose had suspected it had been a scavenger. That's what she was, anyway. Homeless. And a thief.

"There's a warehouse farther down the street." She said. It was somewhat hidden by trees though they had a pretty good view of the street from the front doors. Because the old place wasn't in open view, people just seemed to ignore it.

"A warehouse?" André asked. "By yourself?" Rose shrugged. It wasn't like she could tell them that a ton of people stayed with her. It would make her a hypocrite. They'd offered her a home before and shed refused because she liked her own space. Not likely the uncomfortable vibes rafting off of her old friends she scooted back her chair, ready to stand.

"Well, this has been fun. Thanks, André for lunch. Really, but-"

"Rose-" Lisa started. She shook her head.

"I'll see ya later." Maybe, she silently added standing up. She gave Lisa a small hug and walked brusquely out of the restaurant and onto the crowded streets. She couldn't be around her anymore. It had been starting to feel weird. Sighing, she walked down the street, pushing her way through the wads of people swarming past her. It was maybe ten minutes later that she actually got knocked to the ground. She fell with a loud "oooph!"

"Oh- shoot- and I so sorry!" A male voice, sounding awfully familiar, gasped. He bent down and held out a hand, one that Rose completely ignored, pushing herself to her feet.

"What's the wise idea?" She snapped.

"I'm-"

"What? Just because you're like 7 freaking feet and I'm like five five, you think it's okay to run someone over? Because it's not!"

"Really I'm sorry I wasn't-"

"What? Watching where you were going? It was pretty obvious." The man looked uncomfortable, looking back and forth skittishly. "I'm talking to you Comrade." She snapped noticing he wasn't looking at her anymore. The man grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the ally on their right pressing her up against the wall and holding a hand to her mouth. She wanted so bad to bite those long fingers off but didn't want to get any blood on the new dress. She struggled to get out of his grip but it was a futile effort. He was just too big. There were a couple of screeches on the sidewalk. Rose saw a few people rush out of the way. A few seconds later she heard the pounding of feet and a group of about five stopped right in front of the ally. The man holding her pulled her farther into the protected darkness, gulping.

"I could've sworn I saw him." An averagely tall man said, dressed in a military uniform. Another man nodded.

"So did I."

"He changed.

"It makes sense." This voice was different. It was rough but soft at the same time. It was a woman's voice. And it was causing Rose to shiver. The woman was shorter than she was, dressed in men's clothing- guardian clothing. "The boy's not stupid." She turned around and Rose got a glimpse of her mother for the first time in years. Guardian Hathaway studied the darkness of the ally for a few seconds. Rose held her breath. After a few seconds she shook her head. "Go, keep looking for him! The Prince has got to be around her somewhere!" The group dispersed an after a few minutes of stockstill silence, the man let her go. She stumbled away from him.

"Y-you're the prince…" She mumbled mostly to herself. "You're Dimitri Belikov."